


Nothing Else Matters

by angelus2hot



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Biting, Blood, Blood Drinking, Bottom Dean, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Turned Into Monster, Character Turned Into Vampire, Coerced Sex/Non Con Sex, Dubious Consent, Explicit Language, Human/Vampire Relationship, Implied Relationships, M/M, Monster/Human Sex, Original Character(s), Origingal Monster, Past Relationship(s), Romance, Vampire Sex, Violence, vampire/human sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-13
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-05-20 13:52:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 33,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14895797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelus2hot/pseuds/angelus2hot
Summary: It was supposed to be a simple case, save the little children from the hideous monster before it was too late. But instead Sam was taken by the same monster they were hunting. As usual Dean will do whatever he has to do in order to save his brother and with help from Garth, Crowley and even Benny he does just that. But once Sam is rescued the price he had to pay may well be too high.





	Nothing Else Matters

**Author's Note:**

> **Title:** Nothing Else Matters  
>  **Fandom:** Supernatural  
>  **Characters/Pairing:** Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester  
>  **Rating:** NC-17  
>  **Word Count:** 33,341  
>  **Summary:** It was supposed to be a simple case, save the little children from the hideous monster before it was too late. But instead Sam was taken by the same monster they were hunting. As usual Dean will do whatever he has to do in order to save his brother and with help from Garth, Crowley and even Benny he does just that. But once Sam is rescued the price he had to pay may well be too high.  
>  **A/N:** written for [spn-j2-bigbang](https://spn-j2-bigbang.livejournal.com/)  
>  **A/N2:** [Artwork by siennavie](https://siennavie.livejournal.com/102371.html)

  
[](https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/angelus2hot/9778281/949461/949461_original.jpg)  
made by the talented siennavie

“What are you doing up so early?” Dean asked around a mouthful of a bacon and egg sandwich as he walked into the room. He was surprised to see Sam sitting at the table with his laptop open and his face scrunched up in concentration. It was barely past five in the morning. After the week they had just had Dean had been positive that Sam would be sleeping in at least for the next few days. “Shouldn’t you still be sleeping?” He swallowed another bite before he voiced the question.

“Couldn’t sleep.” Sam muttered as he raised his head and stared up at Dean. “What's your excuse?"

"I was starving." A loud growl echoed from Dean’s stomach as if in agreement. "So I decided to go ahead and get up and make me a sandwich."

His nose curled in distaste. "Isn’t it kind of early in the morning to be eating a sandwich?”

Dean raised his finger. “Hey, it’s bacon. And it’s never too early for bacon. Besides it has an egg on it. That makes it a breakfast sandwich.” He held the sandwich up for Sam to see as he sat down across the table from him. “Do you want some?"

Sam's lips curled. _Would it really kill his brother to eat something a little more healthy?_ "No, I'm good."

Dean shrugged. _Oh well, it was more for him._ "So, what are you doing?” Dean made yummy growling sounds as he took another bite. _Sam didn't know what he was missing. It was a delicious sandwich if he did say so himself._

Sam shook his head at his brother before he lowered his head to read out loud what he had been looking at before Dean had come into the room. “I’m pretty sure I found us a case right here in our own backyard.”

“What? Here?” That thought pissed Dean off to no end. Having to fight monsters on an almost daily basis was bad enough, but he had learned to live with it. After all it was the family business. But he damn sure didn't want to have to hunt them this close to his own home.

“Close enough.” He raised his head to explain. “Two towns over there’s a small town that’s called Last Chance.” Sam lowered his head to read once more. “A group of small children disappeared from their daycare center.”

As much as he hated asking the next question Dean knew he had to know. "How small?" He couldn't stop himself from cringing as the words left his mouth.

He knew what Dean was hoping that they weren’t little kids but it was no use. “They were little kids, Dean. The oldest was almost five and the youngest had just turned three. They...”

But Dean couldn’t stand to hear anymore. “Son of a bitch.” He muttered interrupting Sam. _Why did it have to be little kids?_ He inhaled deeply before he exhaled and asked the next question. “How many of them were taken?” 

Sam took a deep breath before he answered. “There were ten in all. Five girls and five boys.” 

“Son of a bitch!” Dean yelled again as he slammed his fist against the table.

Sam winced at Dean’s angry tone. Not that he blamed him a bit. He felt the exact same way. Anything involving children was always tough. “That’s not all, Dean. This is where it gets weird.” 

Dean wasn’t sure he wanted to hear any more. Their jobs were bad enough but he wanted to draw the line at children. He was a staunch believer that when it came to children that no one should be allowed to mess with a child in any way, shape or form. There should be a get out of jail free card for kids making them completely off limits to any monster; demon, human or otherwise. Unfortunately there was just too much evil in the world that had to include kids.

“You okay?” At Dean’s nod he continued, “The kids were kept for a little over two hours before they were released.”

 _What the...?_ “They were released?” A quizzical look appeared on his face. _What kind of monster releases his prey?_ “That doesn’t make any sense at all.”

“Tell me about it.” Sam muttered in agreement. “But get this. Every single one of the kids said that it was the hideous monster that brought them back.” Sam shrugged at Dean’s look. “That’s what the children said. Of course the local law enforcement are saying the children are too traumatized to give accurate statements.”

Dean couldn’t stop his mouth from falling open. He was right. It didn’t make any sense at all. There had never been a monster in the history of forever that had ever released their victims. Or at least none that he had ever heard of. “The monster took them, kept them for over two hours and then released them?” He repeated as he scratched his head. _It didn’t make any sense._

Sam nodded. “As far as I can tell that’s exactly what happened.” He scrolled down the page before he added almost as an afterthought, “Oh and get this; each of the children had some kind of matching mark or tattoo on their wrists when they were brought back.”

"Why would the monster bother to mark the children if it planned on releasing them?" It seemed like a waste of time to him. "What does it mean?" Dean fired off the questions one after the other.

"I don't know, Dean." He wished he knew. He scrolled down the page looking for more information. "It doesn't say anything else." Sam closed the page before he shut down his computer. “What do you think? Job?”

 _Oh hell yeah._ Although Dean didn’t have a clue what was going on in the town of Last Chance he would do whatever it took, whatever he had to in order to get to the bottom of this. There was no way he was going to let another little kid be hurt or terrorized by this monster. He was going to send it back to hell where it belonged.

“Dean.” 

He jumped at the sound of his brother calling his name. “What?”

“Job?” Sam repeated the question.

“Yeah.” Dean quickly agreed as he grabbed his keys from the table. “Let’s go gank this son of a bitch.”

Less than two hours later Dean and Sam rolled into the small town of Last Chance. It was an innocent enough looking town, to look at it one wouldn't think little children were being taken and terrorized by a hideous monster. But if there was one thing the Winchesters knew it was that looks could be deceiving.

"Where to?"

"According to the map, the nearest victim lives on Peachtree Street." He pointed to the road Dean needed to take. "Lacy Evans lives there." Sam took a deep breath before he continued, "She was the youngest one the monster grabbed. She had a birthday the day before she was taken. She had just turned three years old." 

Dean didn't say a word. He couldn't. His mind raced with images of ganking that monster before it could hurt that little girl again. His fingers turned white from gripping the steering wheel too tight as he turned in the direction Sam had pointed. 

Within minutes Dean had pulled the impala into the driveway and shut off the engine. He would rather fight the biggest, meanest monster ever than to make this little girl relive the horror she had been through. But of course if he wanted to keep it from ever happening again he didn’t have a choice.

Sam and Dean shared a glance before they got out of the car and shut the door before walking onto the porch.

But before they could ring the bell a blonde woman in her late thirties met them at the door. "Yes?"

Dean and Sam flipped their identification wallets open before shutting them just as quickly. "Ma'am, I'm Agent Cronin and this is Agent Doughty. We need to ask you and your daughter a few questions about her abduction and return."

The woman glanced behind her to make sure her toddler wasn't listening. "Please. We've already told the sheriff everything already. But he's saying that Lacy can't reliably describe the person that took her because she's too young. I can't put her through anymore." Her eyes filled with tears at the trauma her little girl had faced not just from the abduction but from the disbelief of the local sheriff's department. There was no way she could put her through that again.

"We realize how hard this has been for the both of you but Mrs. Evans we really need your help to find who is responsible for this." Dean leaned closer. "We don't want any more children going through what your daughter has." 

With her heart filled with dread she hesitated a split second before she opened the door wider and allowed them inside. 

“My daughter is only three and like I said no one at the sheriff’s department....”

Dean held up his hand. “I can promise you that we will believe her.”

The woman’s eyes widened as she stared at the two FBI agents standing in front of her. “You hear a lot about monsters at the FBI do you?”

“You’d be surprised, ma’am.”

She gave Dean a slow smile. Maybe he really would believe her daughter. “Please, it’s Laney.”

“If you don’t mind, my partner, Agent Doughty will talk to your daughter here in the living room.” Before she could object Dean quickly added, “My partner is great with kids.” He ignored the look on Sam’s face and continued, “And if it makes you feel more comfortable you and I can talk in the kitchen where you can keep an eye on your daughter.” 

Laney nodded her head once again thankful her house had an open floor plan as she followed the shorter but good-looking agent into her small yet tasteful kitchen.

Dean and Sam made sure to keep their questions short as possible. Neither of them wanted to put the family through anymore than they had to.

As soon as they were finished Dean and Sam thanked the mother and her little girl for their help. Before they left Dean pulled the mother to the side and in a hushed whisper promised her they would get the one responsible. 

With a relieved smile on her face Laney waved goodbye before she turned and ushered her little girl back inside.

 

“What do you think?” Sam asked the question as they walked to the impala.

Dean could barely suppress the shudder that swept through him. He didn’t think he could go through this another nine times. And he was positive he didn’t want to. But he also knew he didn’t have a choice. “I think we have to get this monster in a hurry. That little girl has been through enough.”

A quizzical look spread across Sam’s face as he stared at Dean across the hood of the impala.

“What?”

As Sam opened the door and slid in his brow furrowed deeper. “While I was talking to Lacy I couldn’t help but notice that she seemed more scared of being taken than she was of the monster that took her.”

“What do you mean?”

Sam flipped through the notes he had taken. “Lacy kept saying how sad the monster was when it brought them back.” At the look Dean was giving him Sam added, “She swore it looked like the monster was crying.”

It was Dean’s turn to look confused. “What the hell?”

“Exactly.”

Dean took a deep breath before exhaling and starting the car. “Who’s next?”

After interviewing each one of the children that were taken in turn Dean and Sam had found where the monster had taken them. Surprisingly enough it was in a five mile radius of where the daycare center where the children had gone missing was.

As soon as Dean had parked the car, Sam slammed the car door behind him as he got out and stared at the building in front of them. Something about it didn’t seem right. “Are we sure this is it?”

Dean shrugged as he grabbed the weapons from the backseat. “Hey, this is where all of the children said they were taken.” He shut the door before handing Sam a shotgun. “You heard them too.”

“Yeah, but this?” Sam leaned his head back to stare at the tall steeple that jutted towards the sky. “What kind of monster takes up squatters rights in an abandoned church? Isn’t there some kind of unspoken law about that?”

Once again Dean shrugged. He didn’t get it either. But it really didn’t concern him all that much. He’d seen some weird things in their line of work and on the weird scale this didn’t even hit the top twenty list. “Let’s go get this thing.”

Sam hated being unsure of what they were about to face and he really wanted to be better prepared but there hadn’t been a lot of time to really research the monster before going after it. Where children were involved they didn’t have a whole lot of time to waste. 

There was something eerily wrong, the boys could feel it down deep in their bones as they walked through the large double doors of the church. 

“Dean?”

He nodded at his brother even though he was pretty sure Sam couldn’t see in the darkness that surrounded them anymore than he could. “Yeah, I feel it too.”

“Do you think it’s still here?”

“I...”

Sam’s eyes were wide as the monster they were hunting came into view. “What the hell is it?” It looked like nothing he had ever seen before. “Is this the thing that was taking the kids?” But before Dean could even begin to answer Sam added, “It has to be the one we’re looking for, doesn’t it?” There was no way there could be another monster that looked this hideous this close.

 _How the hell was he supposed to know?_ “I don’t have a damn clue.” And he could really care less. All Dean had needed to know was the thing in front of him could have been terrorizing little children. And after one look at the monster standing before them Dean was positive they had the right one. The thing spelled terror with a capital T. Now all they had to do was to find a way to stop it one way or the other.

He was brought out of his thoughts as the monster threw its head back and roared before it began to run straight at Dean. 

Dean fired the sawed off shotgun hitting the monster square in the chest with both barrels but it shrugged and the bullets began to slide off of it without breaking the skin. 

“Son of a bitch!” Dean yelled as he began to back up in a hurry. “Bullets ain’t cutting it, Sammy! All they seem to do is piss it off.” Another loud roar echoed around the room as if in agreement. He carefully risked a glance at Sam while trying to keep his attention on the monster coming toward him. “We need to...”

Whatever else Dean was going to say was lost as the monster lunged forward and grabbed him before he could dodge out of the way.

Sam couldn’t get a clear shot, he could only watch in agonized horror as the monster, with its long tail slicing through the air, picked his brother up and shook him like a rag doll before it tossed him across the room. “Dean!” He yelled his brother’s name as he ran towards him. As he prayed to every deity he could think of for Dean to be all right, Sam kneeled on the floor beside him and ran his hands over Dean’s body to feel for broken bones. “You okay?”

Dean nodded his head but winced as pain washed over him. “Yeah, I’m okay.” He used the wall behind him to brace himself as he straightened up. “Where did it go?” At Sam’s negative shake of his head he muttered, “Son of bitch!” beneath his breath. “This isn’t good, Sam. We have to find it but I have no damned idea how to destroy this thing. We need to figure out how to...”

“You’re right.” Sam stood up and held out his hand to Dean to help him up. “I just hate the thought of leaving this thing while we go research how to...” 

“We don’t have to leave.” Dean winced again as he moved. “All we have to do is cut off its head.”

“You think that will work?”

“It usually does.” Dean put his hand in Sam’s so he could help pull him to his feet. “All we have to do is get close enough.”

“How in the hell are we supposed to do that, Dean?” Sam yelled in shock. “Did you see the size of that...” Sam’s words died off as Dean screamed his name in warning.

“Sam!” His eyes widened in horror. “Sammy!” But his warning came too late; his brother was already gone, taken by the very monster they were hunting.

Sam woke dazed and confused. He didn’t have a clue to where he was or how he had gotten there. He quickly glanced down at his watch, wincing as the chain on his wrist rattled as he checked the time. _Chain? What the hell was going on? Where was he? Where was Dean? Was he okay?_ The last thing he remembered was leaning down to make sure Dean was okay when...

The sound of shuffling feet jerked his attention out of his thoughts. “What do want from me?” Sam yelled as he tried to sound tough but he couldn’t stop his voice from trembling as he tried to scoot as far away from the monster walking towards him as he could possibly get. He had never seen anything like it before. It was the biggest, ugliest thing he had ever seen in his life with arms the size of tree trunks. And to top it off on ‘the scare the shit out of you meter’ huge tentacles complete with softball sized suckers that looked almost deflated hung from what was laughingly called its face. He couldn’t suppress a shudder at the hideous image.

Drool dripped from its wide mouth as it stared at Sam from huge bulbous eyes and slowly, purposely licked its lips.

 _Oh hell no!_ Sam’s eyes widened and he shook his head. Even though he wasn’t sure how since he was almost positive they weren’t compatible; there wasn’t a doubt in his mind what the monster standing before him had planned. Another shudder went through him at the horrible thought.

His heart rate accelerated until it felt as if his heart would fly out of his chest. Which honestly might be a more preferable way to die rather than the one the monster obviously had planned for him.

Sam couldn’t be sure but it looked as if the monster rolled its eyes before it began to fold in upon itself. He watched in fascinated horror as the thing continued to change before his eyes until standing before him was a tall woman with long flaming red-hair. She was beautiful beyond compare and with curves in all the right places. Sam was shocked to see that no part of the hideous monster was visible any longer. “What are you?” The question slipped from his lips before he could recall it.

She tossed her long mane of hair over her shoulder as she glared down at him and shook her head. Not five minutes before he had been desperately trying to escape her but now he sat up, with his back ramrod straight and stared into her eyes. He was even trying to engage her in conversation. It didn’t surprise her but she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. She had hoped for more from him. After all he was a Winchester. Not that she wanted him to resist all that much but she didn’t want it handed to her. She liked having to work for it a little. It made the conquest a lot more sweeter.

But before she could speak Sam answered his own question. “You’re a shifter.”

The woman rolled her eyes. “Oh, please.” Her voice was melodious as she answered him. “As if my kind would lower themselves to even be considered a...” She let her sentence trail off as she remembered why she was in the one horse town to begin with. The words _my kind_ no longer applied. She was a one and only... at least for now.

“Then what are you?”

Liquid silver seemed to pool into her eyes as she stared at Sam. “The name of my species is unimportant.” She ignored the pain in her body at the words that fell from her mouth. “Besides in just a few minutes my species is going to be the last thing on your mind.” Her voice was a husky purr as she moved closer to the bed. 

“Wha... wha... what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, come now, Sam. Don’t be coy.” She winked at him before she smoothed the skimpy black dress down over her hips as she spoke. “You know exactly what it means.”

“So, during all of this...” Sam swallowed hard. The woman standing in front of him might be beautiful but he couldn’t forget what she looked like beneath the outside beauty she currently wore. He had to keep her talking. “What am I supposed to call you?”

Name this, name that... _What was it with humans?_ She ran her hand up and down Sam’s denim encased leg as she spoke. “Your human tongue couldn’t pronounce what I am known by even if I told you so for the time being you may call me Maerysa.”

A look of confusion followed by revulsion crossed Sam’s face. _What did she mean for the time being?_

“What that means..” She began, answering his unspoken question. “Is that I won’t stand for you to call me monster, it or any other derogatory name you can think of with that tiny human brain of yours in that deliciously oversized body. And for now I’m allowing you to call me something other than Mistress.”

 _What the hell? Had he somehow come across a BDSM loving monster?_ Sam shuddered at the thought.

“Relax, Sam.” She purred as she climbed onto the bed beside him. “I promise you will enjoy every orgasmic second of this.” Laughter rang out. “As a matter of fact you’re going to be begging me for more.” She laughed louder. “And if you’re good, very good, I might just give it to you.”

“Listen, lady...” At the raised eyebrow look she shot him Sam quickly amended, “Maerysa, I hate to say it but you are out of your mind if you think we’re going to... that I’m going to...” He couldn’t even think about it much less say the words.

“Oh, but we are and you most definitely are.” Maerysa leaned closer, her fingers trailed over his shirt to caress his chest. “And what’s more I can see your _interest_ in me.” She glanced pointedly down his body as she spoke.

Sam couldn’t stop the blush from spreading across his face at her words. _Did she have to point that out?_ It wasn’t like it was something he could control. That part of his body seemed to have a mind of its own. “You’re right. I can’t deny that in this form my body...” He stressed the word before he continued, “My body might find yours interesting..” To say the least. “You turned into quite a beautiful woman but inside I know you’re still a...”

“Oh, Sam.” She quickly interrupted before what he was about to say could piss her off. She really wanted them both to enjoy the experience. “Believe me.” She climbed further up the bed and leaned forward to whisper against his lips, “You haven’t seen nothing yet.”

A few hours later Dean found himself back at the bunker with Garth by his side. He had called the other hunter as soon as he had realized he wasn’t getting anywhere fast and he needed all the help he could get. He ran his hands through his hair as he began to pace the floor. He had to find a way to save Sam. He had to.

Garth stared at Dean with a look of empathy on his face as the hunter paced back and forth. 

“Don’t you dare pity me.” Dean snarled as he caught the look on Garth’s face.

“It’s not pity, Dean.” Garth shook his head. He didn’t take offense at the way Dean was acting. He knew the other man was hurting. “It’s called empathy. You know compassion. As in I’m sorry that your brother is missing but you will get him back.”

Dean stopped pacing long enough to glare at Garth. “You damn right I will.” He ignored the twinge of pain and started pacing again. “I’m just at a loss on how I’m going to do it.” His head hung low as he muttered, “I got nothing.” And that’s what pissed him off the most. He could usually come up with some kind of plan but this time he didn’t know where to even start.

“First things first.” Garth grabbed a stack of books and sat them on the table. “Stop pacing, since you know pacing isn’t actually helping and come grab a book. If we have to we’re going to read every single book, every file and paper in this extensive library until we find the monster that took Sam.”

Pain shot through Dean. He wasn’t really all that good when it came to research. Show him a monster and he could kill it, get the job done but the research... well, that was more Sam’s forte. “If Sam was here he could find what we’re looking for real quick.” He muttered as he walked to the table and took a seat.

Garth took a deep breath and released it before he pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn't bother to point out that if Sam was there they wouldn’t be looking for a way to find him in the first place. “Well, he’s not here. So you’re just going to have to make do with me.” He pulled a large, ancient looking book from the stack. “Here, start with this one.”

“ _The Dietary Habits of the Deeper South’s Succubus_.” Dean’s eyebrows shot up as he read the weathered title out loud. “Uh, Garth. I don’t think this one is going to be of much help.”

With a sigh Garth snatched the book from Dean’s hands and quickly replaced it with another. “Then try this one.”

Despite the seriousness of the situation and his desperate need to find his brother, Dean couldn’t stop the snicker of laughter from escaping him as he read the title. “ _The Mating Rituals of the Deeper South’s Succubus and The Men Who Loved Them_.”

“What the fudge?” Garth shook his head as he grabbed another book from the pile and read the title. “ _The Deeper South’s Succubus and You: A guide to a long lasting relationship_.” Garth’s eyes widened. “Well, apparently someone had a thing for the succubus of the deeper south.” He shook his head once more as he tossed the book to the side. “Idjits.” 

He quickly scooped up the remaining books and slid them down to the end of the table before he gathered another stack and laid them out in front of Dean. “Try these.” He muttered before he sat back down, grabbed a book and began to thumb through it. 

 

An hour later Garth broke the silence that surrounded them. “Tell me again about this monster, Dean.”

Dean took a deep breath. He would rather be out there doing something, anything to find his brother. But instead he was cooped up inside wasting time going through books that were proving to be well... a waste of time and telling the story of Sam’s disappearance and the monster that took him for the hundredth time... while his brother was going through... Dean shook his head. He couldn’t think about it.

“This was supposed to be an easy job. Kill the monster, save the kids and move on.” Dean’s voice was low as he began to talk. “But for some reason things didn’t go as planned. When we arrived in town something about this case seemed off from the very beginning.” At Garth’s questioning look Dean continued, “There were the disappearances of children that were being reported but then the kids were miraculously brought back unharmed.”

“So what made you decide to stay, that there was an actual case?”

“I wish to God I hadn’t but...” Dean shrugged. He couldn’t change the decision to stay no matter how hard he wished he could. Besides neither he nor Sam would have left the terrorized children without finishing the job. “Sam and I interviewed the kids that were brought back and they all had the same story. A monster took them to make more monsters but for some reason it couldn’t.” Dean leaned forward. “But get this they said the monster seemed to be crying when she let them go. That’s weird, right?”

Garth nodded. “Yeah, that is weird. Of all the monsters I have had contact with none of them have ever released their victims.”

“How’s this helping me find...?”

He interrupted before Dean could finish his question. “Tell me again what this monster looked like.”

His request was not a problem for Dean. He would never for as long as he lived forget what it looked like. “It was tall with these huge arms, and something that looked like tentacles on its face.”

“Anything else?” He didn’t know why but for some reason he had the feeling that Dean was leaving something out. “The slightest thing could help.” Garth thought for a moment before he added, “Did it have horns or a tail?

“It was dark and I can’t be sure but when I was fighting...” Dean cleared his throat. “Or rather when it was kicking my ass I could have sworn that I was being hit with a tail.”

Garth’s eyes widened. _This certainly was a story worth telling._ “So the monster was waving his tail around and you were...?”

“Trying unsuccessfully to get out of its reach.” Dean snarled sarcastically. “But for some reason it kept hitting me on the ass with its tail before it finally shook me and threw me across the room. That’s when Sam ran over to check on me and the monster took him when he wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings because he was to busy trying to help me.”

 _Dean was spanked by a monster. _At the gleeful thought Garth quickly bit back the laughter that threatened to escape. _Oh, the goldmine of nuggets he could get from this but out of respect for Dean’s situation Garth kept them to himself.___ But after this was all over and they had found Sam safe and sound all bets were off. 

“It’s not your fault, Dean.” 

“What?” Dean’s face was the picture of innocence.

At the innocent look it was all Garth could do to keep from rolling his eyes or worse. Everyone knew the Sam and Dean story. Any time any little thing happened to his brother or anyone else for that matter Dean was always the first one to blame himself. It didn’t matter whether it was really his fault or not Dean would take responsibility for whatever horrible thing that had happened. 

“Don’t give me that innocent look. You know darn well what I’m talking about, Dean.” Garth glared at him. “You were not responsible for the monster taking Sam. There was nothing you could have done to stop it.” He admonished quietly before he added, “But now it’s up to us to find a way to fix it.”

Dean tossed another book back onto the pile of books that lie on the table. “Not one of these books is giving us any help, any kind of clue at all as to what we’re dealing with. You would think this place would have something that could help us after all it seems to have everything else.”

“Maybe we’re not looking in the right place.” Garth muttered to himself.

“What do you mean?” 

A sigh echoed around them. “You’re right with everything this place has it does seem odd that we can’t find anything on what kind of monster we’re dealing with. So, maybe we should search for a different room.”

Dean nodded his head eager to get started. He would do whatever he had to do in order to find his brother.

Laughter surrounded him, not the kind of laughter that brought joy to those who heard it but the kind that brought nightmares. “You can turn away from me and try to ignore me all that you want but it won’t matter, Sam. For what I’m planning I don’t need your attention or your mind. I only need your delectable body.” She grabbed a handful of his shirt and ripped it down the middle before she leaned over and ran her tongue down the exposed skin. “Besides your mind will follow soon enough.”

 _What the hell did she mean by that?_ “What’s your plan?” Sam pounced on whatever he could to prolong the inevitable.

Her back was ramrod straight as she sat up. “I’m going to repopulate my species.” Pride tinged her voice at the thought. Her species had been on the brink of extinction for a lot of years but it was only this year with the death of her mate that it might truly happen this time. “And you are going to help me.”

“So you want to have my baby.” Maybe he should have asked it in question form. But he didn’t really need to. He feared he already knew the answer.

More laughter escaped her. “No, no, Sam. You misunderstand. My species...” For a moment her eyes filled with sadness. “I mean... My kind, me, we don’t give birth to our young.” 

At her words a complete feeling of panic threatened to consume him. There was no way in hell he was going to... Men weren’t equipped to... Sam shook his head vigorously at the thought. It just wasn’t going to happen. 

She’d been hoping she wouldn’t have to explain to Sam quite this soon how their physical differences would work. That was still the part she didn’t think he would approve of. At least not yet.

Maeryse couldn’t stop the peals of laughter from escaping her as she caught the look on Sam’s face. “Oh please. As if that were even possible.” She ran her hand down his body in a soothing caress, as if she would ever want to mar this perfect body of his. “Didn’t you wonder what the children were for?”

Sam steeled himself against her questing fingers as he spoke. “I thought you were going to eat them.” 

For a moment her eyes turned a deep red as a look of unbridled rage marred her face but it was quickly followed by a look of disgust. As if she would ever hurt her children. “No, Sam. I don’t eat children, any children and especially not my own.” At the look of doubt on Sam’s face a sound of agitation rattled in her throat as she took a deep breath. She really wished she had more time so that she could ease him into how things were done but she just didn’t. She had already waited until it was almost too late and she couldn’t afford to wait any longer. “The children that were released will be my children.”

“How were they...?” The chains enclosed around Sam’s wrists rattled as he tried to sit up. “What do you mean will be your children?” He didn’t understand. “You let them go.”

“Did you honestly think I had really let them go?” She gave him a look that said he should’ve known better. “What kind of monster, to use your word, would ever have let them go?”

His confusion deepened. “But... I... but...”

Maerysa leaned closer and pushed the stray locks of hair from his face. “I took them to turn them into our own after my mate was killed. We had already..." Sam watched in amazement as a blush stained her cheeks as she continued, "I thought since my sacs were swollen that it was enough, that I had gotten the children in time. But I was wrong. I couldn’t do it alone and I’m not equipped to care for human children so I let them go but not before I put my mark on them.” Before Sam could ask she continued, “I wanted to be able to find them later as soon as I had found a new mate. Unfortunately, that isn't possible. I am the last of my species so I have to create a new one.” She cupped his cheek. "And I chose you."

 _Chose him? Create a new mate?_ The words spun around in his mind as he tried to grasp the meaning. _As in she was going to turn him into what she... Oh hell no!_ Every cell in Sam’s body screamed with horror at the thought and he began to jerk on his chains in a desperate yet futile attempt at escape. “I’m not going to let you turn me into a monster like you.” He snarled through clenched teeth. As he pulled even harder the metal of the chains dug into his wrists scraping the delicate skin until blood began to run from his wrists down his arms.

Disappointment radiated from her body as she stared at Sam. This wasn’t going any thing like she had planned or even hoped. She had watched the Winchesters from the moment they had arrived in town and of the two brothers she had decided that Sam was the one she wanted. _How could she not want him?_ He would make a fine mate for her. He was also large enough to withstand the transformation and she’d thought he would be the easiest one to convert. Apparently she had been wrong. Anyone could see that Sam had no intention of calmly accepting his fate. And she was running out of time.

“This isn’t the way I wanted to do this, Sam. Please try and remember that.” Maerysa shook her head sadly. “I wanted to give you time to accept this but it’s apparent to me that you have no intention of doing so.” She climbed onto his body, her legs wrapped around his as she leaned forward. 

“Wait.” Sam struggled against her slight weight. “You don’t have to do this.” 

She shook her head sadly, “But I do.”

His breath came in gasps as he pleaded. “Please. Don’t.” Sam didn’t want to be monster. He had already done the soulless thing. _How much worse would he be as a full fledged monster?_

“Shhhh... It’s okay, Sam.” She promised as her lips touched his.

But her words offered him no comfort. Sam knew it wasn’t okay. Nothing would ever be the same again.

Dean and Garth had scoured through every room they could find and while they had come across many different things that would help them against a lot of different monsters, they couldn’t find anything for the one they actually needed help with.

It was all Dean could do not to let the feeling of defeat overwhelm him. His brother was out there suffering God knew what at the hands of some godforsaken monster and he couldn’t come up with a way to find him much less help him. “What next?”

“There’s one more thing we can try. But you’re not going to like it.” Garth quickly warned. “I don’t even like it but it’s our last chance.”

He didn’t have to like it as long as it helped him save Sam. “What is it?”

“I’m not sure I should’ve said anything.” Garth quickly back peddled. He knew how Dean would feel about this. But he also knew he was right and he was positive although he was also sure Dean wouldn’t like it he would do anything he had to in order to save his brother.

“Garth.” Exasperation colored Dean’s voice as he spoke.

“We need to summon Crowley.”

His eyes widened with surprise. “Crowley?” Even though Dean didn’t say it, the look on his face said Garth was nuts.

“Think about, Dean.” Garth began to calmly explain his reasoning. “Who better to know about the monster that has Sam than Crowley? He is the King of Hell after all. This should be right up his alley.”

“He won’t help.” If there was one thing Dean was positive of and that was Crowley’s unhelpful nature.

“It won’t hurt to try.”

Dean nodded. He knew Garth was right. Even though he was absolutely sure that Crowley wouldn’t help him, he also knew he didn’t have a choice. He had to ask.

The minute Dean nodded his head Garth began gathering ingredients for the summoning spell. 

Fifteen minutes later and after a few colorful and choice words were muttered beneath their collective breaths, the King of Hell finally stood before them.

“Well, well. To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?” Crowley’s eyes darted around the room as he spoke. “Where’s Moose?” Not that he actually cared but he was curious since usually where there was the one Winchester the other one wasn’t far behind.

“A monster grabbed Sam and we’ve been trying to...”

“And you what? Called me to offer congratulations? Commiserate over a cup of tea perhaps?” Crowley’s eyes twinkled with mirth as his laughter echoed around them.

“No. I need you to help figure out what has him. And how to get him back.” Dean clenched his teeth tight as he spoke.

“Oh, let me get right on that.” Sarcasm dripped from Crowley’s voice as he glared at Dean. “If that’s all, gentlemen, I’ll...?”

“Mr. Crowley, sir?” 

Crowley turned to face the other man. His chest puffed out at the show of respect. Here at least was a man who knew how to speak to his betters. “And you are?”

“I’m Garth. I’ve kind of taken over from Bobby since he... Well, you know. And I have been...” At the look on Dean’s face and the slight shake of his head Garth let his sentence trail off before he cleared his throat and quickly continued. “We’ve checked every book, paper, and computer that we can find and there is simply nothing about this monster that has Sam.” 

He really wanted to go and leave the hunters to it but there was something about the monster that wasn’t sitting quite right with him. What the hunter was saying was literally impossible. Every monster should have at least some little detail written about them somewhere. Unless... A shudder went through him at the thought. 

“Tell me about this monster.” Crowley used his best ‘I don’t really care but I’m bored so I am going to humor you’ voice. His eyes widened with dawning horror as Dean took a deep breath and began retelling the story from the beginning. This wasn’t good. It wasn’t good at all. “You saw tentacles and a tail”

“Yeah, I think so. Why? Have you heard of it? What kind of monster is it?” Dean fired off the questions in quick succession without giving Crowley a chance to answer.

“I’m not sure.” Crowley began as soon as Dean had paused to take a breath. 

But Dean was in no mood to play games or to put up with any of Crowley’s evasive bullshit. He wanted answers and he wanted them now. “Take a guess and tell me any way.”

“I can only think of one kind of monster that fits your description and if it has got Sam...” Crowley didn’t finish what he meant but he didn’t have to Dean understood him perfectly.

At the looks he was being given Crowley continued, “Didn’t you say Sam just seemed to disappear?” At Dean’s nod he added, “Gents, if what I suspect is right what you are dealing with is a Manarsiast.”

Garth’s face was marred with a look of confusion. “What the fudge is that?”

“Fudge?” Crowley raised his eyebrow.

Dean shook his head. “Forget it.” He didn’t have time to explain Garth’s colorful word choices. “Tell me about these monsters.”

“Monster. As in if this is what you’re dealing with there is only one.” As Crowley began to speak he hoped the nervousness he was feeling didn’t come across in his words. “Back in the day they used to roam the earth freely. But their appetites got out of control and their species soon outnumbered every other living thing on the planet even the lowliest of demon kind so they had to be exterminated.”

“So what you’re saying is that these, this monster is an enemy of demons?” The old enemy of my enemy is my friend saying began to swirl through Dean’s mind before he could stop it.

A tight smile one that didn’t reach his eyes crossed Crowley’s face. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out exactly what the older Winchester brother was thinking. “Need I remind you, Dean that it has your brother.”

 _Son of a bitch!_

As Dean and Crowley continued to glare at each other Garth quickly jumped into the conversation. “So if all of these monsters were killed off what happened?”

Crowley opened his mouth to speak but before he could say anything Dean interrupted.

“They missed one.”

The King of Hell shrugged. “Two actually but I have it on good authority that one was killed a few days ago. So that only leaves the one that has Moose.”

Dean continued to glare at Crowley with undisguised loathing. “How long do we have before it decides to chow down on my brother.”

The King of Hell shook his head. “It’s not going to eat your brother.” Not all monsters had a taste for human flesh. “Where did you get that idea?”

“You said appetites and I...”

“Naturally assumed.” Once more Crowley shook his head as he finished Dean’s sentence for him. “You do know what they say happens when you assume don’t you, Dean?”

Dean chose to ignore Crowley’s attempt at humor. “So if this thing isn’t going to eat Sam, why exactly did it bother to take him?”

“Moose, the other, other white meat.” He couldn’t help himself. Given the circumstances he should’ve wanted to but he was the King of Hell after all. “Moose, it’s what’s for dinner tonight.”

“But you said he wasn’t going to become this things meal.” Dean’s voice rose in panic.

“I was just having a bit of fun. Relax, Dean. Your brother isn’t going to become a meal for it but...” Crowley pretended to inspect his fingernails as he paused for dramatic effect. He did have a flare for the dramatic if he did say so himself. “But before it is finished with him Sam is going to wish being eaten was all that was done to him.”

“What the hell is worse than being eaten by some godforsaken monster?” Dean snapped in disbelief.

“Oh so young and so incredibly naive.” The King of Hell glanced at Dean. “How soon you forget. Or is it that compared to being eaten your stay in hell wasn’t that bad?”

The last thing Dean wanted to talk about was his stay in Hell. It was the last thing he wanted to think about. Ever. But at least he was alive.

“Don’t bother to answer.” Crowley held up his hand to stop Dean from saying anything. “I can see it written plainly on your face. But just remember, Dean there are so many more things that are worse than death, no matter how you get there.”

“Truth.” Garth muttered beneath his breath as Dean and Crowley turned to stare at him. “What? I do have a life, you know.”

“What could be worse than becoming the equivalent of doggie chow?”

“They grow up sterile.” Crowley turned to face Dean. “That means daddy and mommy can’t have little kiddies of their own. They have to make them using the little rugrats that we seem to have running around this earth in abundance.” With his hands open wide he gave a nonchalant shrug. “And since it grabbed Sam we know it’s female and its next move is going to be...”

“It’s going to get the children back.” Dean supplied before Crowley could finish his sentence.

“That’s not quite right order.” Crowley corrected. “You see first she has to turn Sam into one of her kind before she can...”

“One of her kind?” A cold dread fueled by horror rushed through his body. His brother was going to turn into a monster too. _Over his dead body!_ There was no way in hell he was going to let that happen to his brother. “So what do I do next? How can I fight this thing?” Even as he asked the question Dean was positive he wouldn’t be able to defeat this monster on his own. He was going to need help.

“No offense, Dean.” Crowley tried to make the words that were coming less upsetting than he knew they were bound to be. ”But you’re not exactly strong enough to even think about going head to head with it in any kind of fight.”

“So what do you suggest?”

Crowley quickly hid the devious smile that threatened. “You’re not going to like it.”

Those words sounded eerily familiar to him. “That’s okay. I usually don’t.” _Why should this time be any different?_ “Just go ahead and tell me about it anyway.”

“In order to be strong enough you’re going to have to become a monster too.” Crowley didn’t mince words as he began to explain. “It’s the only way that you can...”

“Oh, hell no.” Dean shook his head for emphasis. There was no way he was going to do that. “In case you’ve forgotten. I’m trying to save my brother from becoming a monster. I don’t think my becoming one will be all that big of a help.”

Crowley sighed. The Winchesters always did take things much too literal. They never saw the subtle nuances of things. “I meant you need to become a demon.”

 _Did Crowley actually think he would allow one of his demons to highjack his body?_ “No way.”

“It’s the only way to...”

“I said no way.” Dean leaned closer, his lips curled into a snarl. “Why don’t you try again.” 

“There is no other way, you moron.” Crowley snarled back at him. “This thing that has taken your brother is the strongest monster you’ve ever been up against. It’s a wonder she didn’t kill you the first time.” He was still shocked and quite put out that it hadn’t eliminated the Winchester brothers for him. It would have saved him a lot of hassle in the long run. But then again he needed them, or at least Dean to fight this particular monster. “You will need every advantage you can get if you want to save your brother.” 

“Why do I have to become anything?” Dean pretended he hadn't heard his voice rise an octave higher as he spoke. The thought of a demon possessing him made him want to throw up. “Why can’t I just grab a posse and go in with guns a blazin'?"

Crowley couldn’t stop his eyes from rolling almost to the back of his head. “Tell me exactly which demons would you trust to guard your back? How many do you think would be willing to risk their lives to save a Winchester?” At Dean’s continued silence he added, “Come on, tell me, Which ones?”

Before Dean could think of anything to say Garth quickly spoke up. 

“Will any kind of monster do?”

Both men turned to stare at Garth as they both wondered what he was getting at. 

It took every ounce of his control to keep from snapping his fingers and killing the man Dean called Garth. If only the hunter had kept his mouth shut. He had wanted... needed Dean to take the demon route. It would have made things so much easier for him. “No. It has to be something with great strength and fighting stamina.” Crowley puffed out his chest. “And nothing beats a demon.”

With great restraint Garth succeeded in stopping himself from rolling his eyes. He could think of one thing as strong as a demon right off the top of his head. “What about a vampire?”

Dean’s breath caught in his throat. He knew exactly where Garth was going with this. “I’ve done the vampire thing, Garth. It wasn’t exactly easy.” Besides he didn’t even know if he could be turned back human after he saved Sam.

Garth shrugged. “It’s just a suggestion.”

“I wasn’t exactly able to control it.”

“Oh please.” Crowley chimed in. “If you hadn’t been able to control it you would have been stuck as a vampire a long time ago instead of your...” Crowley glanced at Dean and winked. “Instead of being yourself.

“It’s up to you, Dean.” Garth supplied oh so helpfully. “Only you can decide if trying to save Sam is worth the risk of you becoming a vampire again or not.”

And once again Dean knew he didn’t really have a choice. There was no way he was letting some demon wear him like a cheap suit so a vampire he was going to be. Dean took a deep breath before he muttered, “Let’s make me a vampire.”

A soft, wicked smile began to slowly spread across Crowley’s face as he rubbed his hands together in glee. He had wanted Dean to become a demon but he would make do with him turning into a vampire. Besides this would be Dean’s second time as a vampire and with each turning the vampire side became stronger and stronger, more dominant. His smile widened. Who knew by this time tomorrow he could have his Manarsiast problem and his Winchester problem all taken care of at the same time.

There was something about the look on Crowley’s face that made his skin crawl. The King of Hell was up to something and he knew it. “I have one request.” As soon as Dean was sure he had they’re attention he began to speak, “I want Benny to be the one to turn me.”

“Dean.” Crowley tsked. “You know that particular vampire is in Purgatory. Your request is impossible to fill and you know it. So you will just have to make do with a different one.” Preferably one that owed him a favor and he could control. “I’m sure there are a lot of vampires out there who would simply delight in being the one that turned the famous hunter.”

Dean was already shaking his head before Crowley had even finished speaking. He wasn’t going to let just any vampire turn him into a bloodsucker. It was going to be Benny or no one. “It’s Benny or nothing.”

“Can you really afford to be spouting off ultimatums?” Crowley narrowed his eyes and glared at Dean. “You’re the one who needs the help.” He took a deep breath before he added with undisguised glee, “After all you do remember the monster does have your brother, don’t you?” 

"You're right it does. But I also saw the look on your face when you realized what kind of monster it is that has Sam. You were frightened. It looked like you were downright terrified.” Dean ignored the sound of indignation that came from Crowley and continued to speak, “And I know even if it’s not for the same reasons you do want this thing ganked as much as I do."

Crowley glared at Dean. He would be damned if he would admit it but once again the older Winchester brother was right. He needed this particular monster dealt with in a hurry and Dean was his best option. “Fine, let’s get you to Purgatory.” Without another word he snapped his fingers.

Dean couldn’t help but feel the nervousness set in once he was standing at the gates of Purgatory. He had been there before and he had hoped he would never have to go there again. But once again his love for his brother proved he was willing to do whatever he had to do even those things he really didn’t ever want to do again.

“Once I’m a...” Dean swallowed hard and tried again. “Once I’m a vampire how do I get back out?”

“That’s simple.” Crowley snapped his fingers and a barely perceptible path began to show. “Just follow the path back the way you came.”

That sounded a little too easy. “And that’s it?”

“Did you want something more complicated?” A sliver of anger hummed in Crowley’s voice. _Honestly was a little appreciation too much to ask for?_ “Would you like to have to find your own way back out?”

Dean shook his head. He didn’t want to have to waste any more time than he had to in Purgatory. And searching for a way out really sounded like a waste of time.

“As soon as you’re done. I’ll meet you at the gate.” Only Crowley could make those words sound like a thinly veiled threat.

Without another word Dean gave a slight nod and walked towards the opening.

“Dean.” 

He stopped and looked back as Garth called his name. “Yeah?”

“I’m not sure this is such a good idea.” At the quizzical look on Dean’s face he continued, “We’re trusting Crowley. Does that seem like a good thing to you?”

Dean shrugged his shoulders. He knew it was a long shot and that Crowley was probably up to something but he really didn’t have a choice in the matter. It was to save Sam. And he would make a deal with the devil himself in order to save his brother; Crowley was close enough. “It was your idea to call him remember?”

Guilt began to spread across Garth’s face as he stared at Dean. The other hunter was right it had been his idea but now that they were here at the point of no return, so to speak, he wasn’t sure if this was the way that they should go about saving Sam.

“Hey.” Dean snapped his fingers to gain Garth’s attention. The last thing he wanted was for Garth to feel guilty. After all he had been right. Calling Crowley had given them their best lead. “It’s okay. It was a good idea to call him. At least now we have a plan.” And to Dean a solid plan, even if it turned out to be a bad one meant he was at least trying to save his brother.

“You know I’m standing right here.” Crowley grumbled. “I can hear you, you know?”

“Yeah.” Dean didn’t add, _”No one really cares.”_ But then again he didn’t have to they all could hear it just the same.

Crowley chose to ignore the unsaid and added, “Remember when you get inside you have to hurry. Find Benny, get him to bite you and get out.” At the questioning look on both of their faces he quickly explained, “You only have three more days left to save Sam and the children.”

“What the hell?” Dean spun around to glare at Crowley. “You son of a bitch. I didn’t know there was a time limit. Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

The King of Hell smirked at him as he elegantly raised his shoulder in a slight shrug. “Do you really want to waste time arguing about when I should have told you or do you want to save your brother?”

Even though Dean knew he was right he continued to glare at Crowley. “This isn’t over.”

“It never is with us.” Crowley’s voice turned husky with innuendo as he watched Dean turn around and walk into Purgatory.

Still fuming Dean walked into Purgatory cussing Crowley, the lying no good demon for everything he was worth. He should have known he couldn’t trust the demon to give him all the pertinent information that he needed. If he had know he only had three days he would never have.... Dean shook his head. He didn’t have time for self-recriminations he needed to find his vampire fast. He quickly picked up the pace. He had to find Benny.

As he walked into the clearing Benny couldn’t believe who was coming towards him. Surely, it couldn’t be... there was no way. He had to be hallucinating, seeing who he wanted to see because he missed his hunter so damn much. He scrunched up his eyes before quickly rubbing them. _Son of a bitch._ Dean really was there.

“What the hell are you doing here?” The question was out of Benny’s mouth before he was even barely close enough for Dean to hear him. As he ran closer the look on his best friend’s face gave him pause and he came to a stop. “Tell me you’re not dead, Dean.” He could feel the panic rising inside of him at the thought.

Dean shook his head. “No, nothing like that.”

A wave of relief washed over Benny so fast his knees almost buckled and he quickly leaned against the nearest tree in order to steady himself. “You can’t be doing that to me, Dean. I just knew that you were...” He let his words trail off as he got a good look at Dean’s face. “What’s wrong with Sam?” Benny knew this was about Sam, it couldn’t not be. The last time he had seen that particular look on his best friend’s face was the time when Sam was stuck in Purgatory with no way out. 

“How’d you know I’m here because of Sam?” Dean’s voice wavered as he stared at Benny.

A short bark of laughter escaped Benny. “Because you’re here. And this ain’t exactly a place anyone would want to come to for a weekend getaway. It could only be about Sam.” He looked at Dean with a small smile on his face and softly repeated, “So, what’s wrong with Sam?”

“It’s bad, Benny.”

“Walk with me.” Benny pulled Dean by the arm until he fell in step beside him. At the quizzical look on Dean’s face the vampire quietly reminded, “It’s Purgatory, remember? We gotta keep moving. Have you forgotten everything I taught you already?”

Dean shook his head and fell into step beside Benny. He didn’t tell him that there was nothing about Purgatory he had forgotten including the vampire himself.

As they walked Dean began to explain all that had happened. “A monster seemed to be collecting children but let them go. Me and Sam were hunting it, the thing grabbed Sam and disappeared.”

Benny could feel the borrowed blood in his body began to run cold. It had been a lot of years since he had heard of that particular monster. In all honesty he had hoped to never hear about it again.

“It’s a Maen... manar...”

“A Manarsiast.” Benny supplied helpfully. 

“You know it?”

Benny shook his head emphatically. The last thing he wanted was for Dean to think he knew or could possibly be friends with the monster that took his brother. “No, I don’t know it. But I have heard of its kind. And it seems kind of odd that it took Sam.”

“Apparently it’s the only one of its kind left because its mate was killed...” Dean began to explain.

_That would explain why it had taken Dean’s brother. Although he personally preferred Dean his brother Sam was bigger and would be more suited to withstand the... _He let his thoughts trail off as he added, “And now it’s making itself a new one.” Benny finished for him.__

A hopeful look began to appear on Dean’s face. Finally, someone he trusted with information. “Tell me what you know.”

It only took Benny a few minutes to give Dean all the information he knew about the Manarsiasts. 

Dean couldn’t quite keep the disappointment from showing on his face as he nodded his head. He had hoped that Crowley had lied to him that he didn’t need to become a vampire in order to save Sam but it looked as if Crowley was right. “That’s exactly what Crowley said.”

The vampire’s eyes widened. “You’re working with Crowley?”

“Yeah, I am.” Dean shook his head. “Well kind of.” At the look on Benny’s face he quickly added, “It’s not what you think. Look, I don’t have time to explain all of it now. I...”

But before he could finish speaking Benny interrupted. He wasn’t letting Dean leave until he knew everything. “Tell me exactly what happened and what Crowley told you.”

Although he knew he was pressed for time Dean didn’t hesitate and quickly began telling the vampire exactly what had happened and how. Benny was the one he trusted above all. 

“I hate to say it, Dean. But Crowley is right.” Benny paused as he wondered if he should tell Dean the rest. But at the look on Dean’s face he knew he couldn’t keep anything from him. He deserved to know. “Crowley left out one very important thing. You see this monster that has your brother has the ability to turn itself into whatever female image that pleases your brother.”

“You mean....?” Dean’s eyebrows raised.

Benny nodded. “If Sam likes blonde hair, blue eyes and a swimmer’s tan that’s what she’ll become before she tries to turn him. In this form they release some type of hormone that makes the human males more compliant, more eager. Sam won’t stand a chance. Before she’s done he’ll be begging for her to change him.”

Sam was in even more trouble than he had at first thought. He wasn’t going to fight to get away. If Benny was right Sam was going to give in gracefully and eagerly. “How do you know all of this?”

Dean watched in fascination as Benny began to turn beet red. He hadn’t thought a vampire could blush but this one proved him wrong.

“I wasn’t quite honest with you before. I’ve more than heard of them. I.. there was...” Benny cleared is throat as his blush darkened. “It was before I became a vampire. I didn’t have a girlfriend, hell I could barely talk to any girl much less girls of my age. I was young, alone and you know what happens to boys at that age. One night I met one of them and she turned into this raven-haired goddess with big..” Benny’s blush deepened. “And I... well..” As Dean raised his hand to stop him Benny paused before adding, “A vampire saved me before she could finish what she had started.”

“How?”

Benny shrugged. “What vampires do best. He drained her.”

His brow wrinkled in confusion. “Why did she want you?” It dawned on Dean how insulting that sounded. “I didn’t mean that you’re not... I just meant that you...”

Benny took pity on Dean and interrupted. “If they only turn children then why me?” At Dean’s nod, he shrugged before he continued, “It was a case of wrong place, wrong time. She didn’t have a mate and she thought I was big enough to withstand the transformation.”

“Oh.” Dean didn’t know what else to say.

“So that only leaves one other thing I need to know.” Benny stopped walking and turned to face Dean. “Why are you here, Dean?” Even as he asked the question something deep inside of Benny told him that he already knew the answer. Although, he hoped like hell he was wrong. 

“I need you to turn me.” Dean swallowed hard at the look Benny was giving him. 

_Son of bitch._ He had hoped it wasn’t this. “Do you have any idea what you’re asking of me, Dean?” He’d been right all along. When Dean Winchester asked you for a favor he really wasn’t messing around.

“I know it’s too much and I don’t have the right to ask or even hope that you would...” Dean’s voice broke as he added, “But he’s my brother and I need your help.” He stared into Benny’s eyes. “You’re all I’ve got, Benny. Please, I’ll beg if you want me to.”

For just a moment Benny’s eyes glazed over as he remembered their time together. The way Dean had begged and pleaded for his release and the way he called his name in the throes of passion was etched in his mind forever.

“Benny?”

The vampire shook his head to dispel memories that best lay forgotten. At least for now. “No, Dean. You don’t have to beg.” Although, hearing Dean beg for release, his voice husky with pleasure did make the number one spot on his top ten list of favorite things... Ever. “Why me, Dean? Surely there are all manner of vampire topside that would have been an easier choice and quicker to get to.”

Dean swallowed hard before admitting in a rush of words, “It had to be you, Benny. Only you. You’re the only one I trust.”

He tried to pretend he didn’t feel pride wash over him as he walked closer to Dean. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

 _What was he supposed to say? Was he supposed to say no, that becoming a vampire was one of the last things he would ever want but because it was Sam he had no choice. Or was he supposed to mention the fact that for all those months when he was stuck in Purgatory having Benny turn him had been his wildest fantasy?_ One that he still looked back on with varying degrees of regret.

Benny misunderstood Dean’s silence. “Look, you don’t have to do this, Dean. We can find another way to save your brother.”

“There is no other way. I have to be strong enough to fight it and you can give me that.” At the look of doubt that was reflected in Benny’s eyes Dean added, “This is the only way. You know I’m right. I have to become a vampire. It’s the only way to defeat this monster. A vampire saved you and one is going to save my brother.” Dean paused to take a deep breath. “And I want you to be the one to make me a vampire.”

As hard as he tried and as much as he despised himself for it Benny couldn’t disguise the thrill Dean’s words had given him. Even though he knew it was wrong he’d had wet dreams for years of this very thing. 

“Please, Benny.” Dean begged softly. “Bite me.”

Those four little words were the vampire’s undoing. With almost inhuman speed Benny pushed Dean up against the nearest tree, his face buried against Dean’s neck as his sharp teeth grazed the delicate skin. Even though he could smell the warm, delicious scent of blood flowing beneath the surface Benny held back. He didn’t want this life for Dean. And he knew if his hunter tasted just one little drop of human blood he would be stuck as a vampire for the rest of his existence. “Stop me, Dean. Please.” The words were said in an agony of desperation.

He leaned his head further to the side to give Benny unfettered access to his neck and the warm blood waiting just beneath the surface. “I can’t.” 

Benny hated himself for what he was about to do. He even hated Dean a little for asking him to do this but it was Dean who was asking and he didn’t have a choice. He could never refuse Dean anything.

A cry of pain was ripped from Dean’s throat as Benny’s sharp teeth bit into the tender skin of his neck.

With a pained sound in the back of his throat Benny tried to raise his head only to be stopped by Dean threading his fingers into his short hair and urging him on.

The sound that escaped Benny was part growl of desperation and the other part was a purr of pure satisfaction as human blood, warm, wet and deliciously Dean burst into his mouth. He slid his arms around Dean’s waist and pulled him closer. And for a few brief minutes Benny allowed himself the luxury of enjoying the taste of Dean’s blood on his tongue. It was the first drop of human blood that he had tasted in a very long time. He couldn’t deny the thought that it was Dean’s blood made him incredibly happy. His fingers dug into Dean’s waist as he drank deeply. But all good things must come to an end and Benny knew he had to stop. 

With one last long draw of blood Benny gave a sigh and gently licked the side of Dean’s neck before he raised his head. With nonchalance he was far from feeling he bit into his wrist before holding it against Dean’s mouth. As his blood flowed into Dean’s mouth he did his best to ignore the way his hunter’s lips felt against his skin. “I’m sorry, cher.” Benny whispered as he lowered his arm.

Dean licked the blood from his mouth as he gave Benny a weak smile. “Don’t worry about it, Benny. I asked you to.” A look of unmitigated horror appeared on Dean’s face as it finally dawned on him what he had done to his best friend. “Oh damn, Benny. I am so sorry.”

“For what?”

“You know what for.” Dean shook his head sadly. “How long has it been since you’ve had...”

His voice was husky as he finished Dean’s question for him. “Straight from the vein?” 

Although he cringed at the word choice the vampire used Dean nodded his head. “Yeah.”

“You’re my first in a very long time.”

There was something in the tone of Benny’s voice, a kind of quiet pride that made Dean want to smile and he quickly bit his lip. He couldn’t help but like knowing that he had given Benny something he needed. It was all he could do not to put his hand up to his neck to feel where Benny had bit him as he pushed away from the tree. “Are you going to be okay?”

There was no way in hell that he was going to let Dean know by word or deed just how bad he was going to have it once Dean left. And it wasn’t just because of the taste of his blood either, he was going to miss his hunter more than he thought possible. “I’ll be fine, Dean. Don’t you worry about me.” 

“Thank you, Benny. I owe you one.” Those words, while true didn’t feel like they were enough, Benny deserved so much more. Dean couldn’t express how much what the vampire had done for him meant. 

“You don’t owe me nothing.” 

“I...” Dean started to speak but a cry of pain escaped him almost buckling his knees with its intensity.

Benny grabbed his arm to steady him. “You okay?” As he held onto Dean he couldn’t help but notice the glint of the set of vampire teeth descending in Dean’s mouth. “There you are.” He muttered beneath his breath. It took all of his will power to keep the word _Mine_ from falling from his lips. If he claimed Dean now he would never let him go. A wickedly horrible idea ran through his mind. Maybe he wouldn't have to, all it would take is for Dean to have one tiny little drop of... Benny stopped that thought in its tracks before it could take hold. The last thing he would ever want is for Dean to be stuck as a vampire. It would be one thing if he thought Dean actually wanted to be... _Damn._ He had to get a hold of himself. This wasn't about what he wanted or needed it was only about what was best for Dean.

Dean could feel himself becoming stronger, his eyesight perfect, his hearing and his sense of smell beyond compare. Dean stared into his vampire’s eyes, his own shining with something he couldn’t name, something he didn’t dare name. “Benny, I wish...”

There was nothing he wouldn’t have done for Dean even if it meant letting him go. Now wasn’t the time for any kind of declarations on either of their parts. Maybe there never would be again. They’d had their time together, short as it had been. Maybe one day they would find their way back to... He was too old to believe in _Maybes and One days_. With a slight shake of his head Benny gave a small smile and whispered huskily, “You go on now and save that brother of yours.”

“See you later, Benny.” For some reason he couldn’t explain he couldn’t say goodbye. Dean was positive he would see his vampire again. One day. With one last look Dean turned and followed the shimmering path back the way he had come.

Crowley glared and tapped his watch as Dean walked out of Purgatory. “It certainly took you long enough.” The last thing he had wanted to do was cool his heels with the _Mr. Rogers_ wannabe standing beside him while he waited for a Winchester. But that was exactly what he had done for the last hour and thirty minutes. The King of Hell was not pleased.

Garth ignored him as he interrupted. “Did you get what you went in for?”

Which Dean knew was Garth’s way of asking was he a vampire. Dean opened his mouth to show his full set of vampire teeth.

“Wow, the things you will go through to save your brother.” Garth couldn’t help but admire Dean for that. He didn’t think he knew anyone, hunter or not that would be willing to go to the lengths Dean would for family.

“Did you have any trouble finding your vampire... Benny was it?” Crowley piped in. At the shake of Dean’s head he yelled, “Then what took you so damn long?”

“What did you think was going to happen?” Dean’s voice was full of curiosity. “It’s been a long time since we saw each other. Did you think I was just going to walk up to Benny and say bite me and that was it?”

A look of dawning slid across Crowley’s face. “Ah, a little tit for tat.” He waggled his eyebrows in understanding. “Why didn’t you just say so?”

Dean didn’t say a word but glared daggers at Crowley who stared back at him with a smug expression on his face. 

“What do we do now?” Garth quickly posed the question to cut the tension surrounding them. 

“Now we go hunt ourselves the monster.”

“And this is where it seems we have hit a little snafu in your plan, Dean.” At the quizzical look on Dean’s face Crowley began to explain. “I’m willing to take you as close to the monster as I can safely get you. And by safely I mean my safety. But after that I can’t help you, you’re on your own.”

“Can’t or won’t?” Dean asked the question through clenched teeth.

“Whichever one makes you feel better.” Crowley began but stopped at the look on Dean’s face. “Fine. Won’t. But I will tell you this." Crowley straightened his tie and wiped a speck of dirt off of his sleeve before he spoke. "If you can get to the children before the Manarsiast finishes the ritual then you can not only save them but Sam as well."

"How?" 

Crowley took a deep breath. He felt like a virgin on prom night getting ready to spill all of her secrets but he knew in order for Dean to rid him of his monster problem he needed to give him some way to save his brother. "You have to interrupt the ritual before she finishes converting the last child. If you do then they will all revert back to human as if it had never happened."

Before Dean and Garth could realize what happened Crowley snapped his fingers and they were standing outside what could only be an abandoned school that had a creepy, too long empty feel about it.

“Is this where Sam is?” Garth couldn’t help but wonder if Crowley was tracking Sam or the monster and if he was how was he doing it?

The King of Hell rolled his eyes. “Of course not. I thought you could use some higher learning.” Sarcasm rolled off his tongue.

“You don’t have to be such a douche, Crowley.”

Garth nodded his head in agreement. “Yeah.”

There was a lot of things Crowley could have said, hell there was a lot he wanted to say but somehow he managed to hold his tongue. The faster he was on his way the better he would feel. “And now I call it a day.” Before either man could say anything Crowley continued to speak. “Don’t forget, Dean, you can’t ingest any amount of human blood under any circumstances. Even a tiny little drop is too much. If you do you’ll be stuck as a vampire forever.” Crowley stopped short. _What the hell was he doing giving a Winchester a helpful reminder? He must be getting soft._ He narrowed his eyes at the thought. Apparently he had hung around the goody two shoes side a little too long for his own good. “With that I bid you gentlemen, adieu.” Without another word Crowley snapped his fingers and disappeared.

Dean and Garth stared at each other. _What the hell were they supposed to do now?_

Sam groaned as her teeth nipped his bottom lip before trailing tiny kisses to his ear. This was wrong, in the back of his mind he knew it but he somehow couldn’t quite bring himself to care.

With her voice husky with promised passion she whispered in his ear, “Do you want me?” 

He moaned out loud as he tried, really tried to refuse, to say no but he couldn’t. The word had come but for some reason it had refused to fall from his traitorous mouth that could only whisper a guttural, “Yes.”

A feeling of triumph almost consumed her at his response as she reached for his belt. There wasn’t time for all that she wanted to do to and with Sam and she knew it. She needed to hurry but Maerysa couldn’t stop herself from taking a moment to admire his body as each glorious inch was revealed to her gaze as she slowly removed the rest of his clothing. 

Her hands blazed a trail across his skin that her tongue soon followed, dipping in each hollow of his body until Sam was almost incoherent with pleasure.

He felt like he was on fire, every cell inside of him burning and crumbling to ash as Maerysa caressed every inch of his body and back again. 

Her breath cooled his feverish skin only to have her hands start the fire again. “Are you ready for me?” Her mouth was dangerously close to his erection. 

_He couldn’t get any more ready._ He was already hard and aching. “Yes.” Sam’s body arched off the bed.

“Do you want to be mine?” Her breath caressed the tip of his erection. She smiled as his groan echoed around them. She knew she was driving him to the brink of sanity. All it would take would be one more slight push and he would be sliding passed it and into her world. She leaned closer, her mouth hovered over him teasingly. “Do you give yourself to me freely and forever?”

Somewhere in the back of his mind there was that small part of him that was still screaming no but Sam knew it was some kind of trick. _Why would he say no to her? Why would he ever want to? She was everything he had ever wanted._ He needed Maerysa. He belonged to her always. “Yes, I am yours as you are mine.”

 _Yes!_ Finally she would have what she wanted, needed. Her species would thrive once again. All thanks to the gorgeous man lying before her. Sure, he wasn’t up to the standards of her lost mate but soon he would be. Now that she had his agreement she needed to proceed with the ritual mating but he had made her so happy she felt he deserved the feel of her mouth on him as a reward.

A guttural groan rumbled in his chest as her tongue licked him. As her mouth engulfed him Sam’s body arched up pushing his cock deeper into her mouth. 

As she swallowed, her throat constricting around him Sam moaned.

Her tongue was like flames licking the length of him, from base to tip and back again before she finally gave in and closed her mouth around him.

He groaned.

She took him deeper.

He begged.

And she squeezed him tighter until he felt as if he would explode from the exquisite torture she was subjecting him to.

His voice was husky with unbridled passion as he called her name.

He wasn’t ready for what happened next. The sound of bell ringing vibrated through the room and without warning she stopped. Sam didn’t know what he had done to make her stop. And he didn’t know what to say to make her continue. He only knew that if she didn’t finish what she had started he wouldn’t survive. But even if he wanted to he was unable to form a complete sentence. The only word he could coax from his mouth was a hoarse “Please.”

Maerysa smiled wickedly up at him from between his legs. “Shh, Sam. It’s okay. I’m going to make you feel so good.” She squeezed the base of his erection even tighter as she slid her hand up and down as she spoke. “Time is running out and I have to...” She stared at him, her eyes shining. “Are you sure you want this, Sam?” There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that he did but everything had to be above board. And Sam had to be sure. There couldn’t be any doubt in his mind or the ritual wouldn’t work. She quickly leaned over and released him from his chains. “It’s not too late to change your mind, you know?” The question fell from her lips as she stood up and removed her dress baring her breasts to his hungry gaze. “If you don’t want me..” She never looked away from his eyes as she cupped her breasts in her hands and squeezed before she slowly ran her hands down her body to remove the rest of her clothing. 

_Didn’t want her? Was she nuts?_ He had never wanted anyone more. There was nothing or no one more important to him than her. She was his life. Without her he couldn’t, he wouldn’t want to exist. And with that thought the little niggling of doubt, that part of him that was screaming for him to say no was silenced for good.

He swallowed hard as her flaming red hair flowed down her body to caress her alabaster skin. Lust rolled off of Sam in waves as his eyes glazed over and his breath came in shortened gasps of need. He had never seen a more beautiful woman in his life. And he couldn’t wait another moment to have her... As a matter of fact he refused to wait any longer.

Sam leaned up, determination etched on his face as he reached up and threaded his fingers through her long hair. With a deep growl he pulled her down towards him until his mouth met hers in a fiery kiss. 

His muscles bunched and coiled as his hands spanned her waist to drag her on top of his needy body.

The warm, wet feel of her naked body as she slid across his cock made his eyes roll back into his head. Nothing in his life thus far had prepared him for the intensity of feelings that rushed through his body. 

As she slid down on to him, her muscles contracting around him a loud groan escaped him echoing throughout the building. 

She rode him like a rodeo star, her breasts bouncing up and down, her nails raking his chest as she screamed for him to come with her.

Pleasure bordering pain filled his body as every cell inside of him rushed towards completion.

“Tell me.” She demanded huskily, her mouth open in ecstasy as a sea of pleasure coursed through her. 

“I am yours.” Sam growled as his fingers dug into her waist leaving behind bruises but he didn’t care. He gripped her tighter as he thrust deeper inside of her. His body trembled as he fought to gain his release. 

A high pitched screaming sound was ripped from her throat as her orgasm overpowered her but it wasn’t enough she needed Sam to come with her. “Come, now.”

He thrust harder and deeper, each thrust brought him closer and closer but still it wasn’t enough until she reached behind her and caressed his balls, her nails gently scraped against the tender skin.

Her name fell from his lips in a litany of prayer as he finally gained his climax. Over and over the pleasure washed over him, through him until he thought he would die with the pleasurable pain of it. 

As she collapsed on top of him, their harsh breaths mingling in the silence of the room Sam was finally aware of one thing. 

She was his Heaven, she was his Hell but more than that she was his everything.

“I could stay like this forever.” His fingers gently caressed her naked spine as he spoke.

Soft laughter escaped her. “I don’t think your brother would like that.”

A blank look crossed his face. “Who?”

“Never mind.” A huge smile began to spread across her face. Finally, it was working. It wouldn’t be long now before Sam Winchester, the human would be gone and in his place would be her new mate. She couldn’t wait. Finally, she was getting her life back to where it was supposed to be.

Garth stared at the building in front of him. “Where do we...” The ringing of his cell phone interrupted him before he could finish his question.

Dean waited not all that patiently for Garth to finish his call. “What was that about?” The question was out of his mouth almost before Garth had the time to put his cell phone away.

“That was the sheriff.” A look of horror crossed his face. “It seems all the children that were kidnapped and released earlier have now disappeared. They’re assuming they have all been taken again by the same ‘person’.”

Cold chills danced up his spine at Garth’s words. He had hoped he would be able to gank the monster before any of the children were hurt. But it looked like he was going to be too late.

“Stop it, Dean.”

Dean gave him a quizzical look.

“Don’t play dumb with me.” Garth shook his finger at him. It was just like Dean to try and shoulder the blame. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. You’re trying to take the blame all on to your shoulders. But this ain’t your fault.” He took a deep breath before he added, “What’s going to happen or has already happened to those children and to Sam isn’t your fault. You didn’t bring any of this on.” 

“It’s just...”

 _That was enough of that. He had to get Dean focused on the task at hand._ “Yes, well after this is over we’ll hug it out.” Garth promised through a big toothy grin. “But right now we have a huge building in front of us and a short amount of time to get through it so where do we start?”

“I need you to scout around for a car.” He had planned for Crowley to snap them to safety but of course that route went out the window when the King of Hell had ran to save his own skin. 

A feeling of unease crept up the back of Garth’s neck causing the fine hairs to stand at attention. “I’m not sure that’s wise, Dean. It’s too dangerous to go in on your own. You could possibly need my help with the...”

“You’re right.” Dean nodded his head for emphasis. “Okay, here’s the plan. I’ll keep a look out here while you go grab a car.”

Garth narrowed his eyes. No matter what anyone thought he really wasn’t a fool. Dean had given in way too easy. He knew there was no way Dean was going to wait patiently outside when his brother was being subjected to God knew what. But he also knew there was no talking Dean out of doing what he had planned. “Okay, I’ll hurry.” Without another word Garth ran around to the back of the building.

The other hunter was barely out of sight before Dean sprinted up the concrete stairs to the double doors and rushed inside.

Sam woke to find the spot beside him already cold to the touch. He didn’t know how long he had slept but he quickly slipped out of bed to go in search of Maerysa.

It didn’t take long for him to find her. “What are you doing?” Sam’s voice rose as he stared at Maerysa. 

She leaned her head to the side as she turned to look at him. “Sam? You okay?”

“Yeah. I just asked...” A gasp escaped him as pain sliced through him. _What the hell was wrong with him?_ He quickly leaned against the doorframe. “I don’t feel so good.” His breath came in shortened gasps. 

Maerysa forgot all about what she was supposed to be doing and rushed to his side. As she reached out to push his hair away from his face she softly whispered, “It’s okay, Sam. It will be over soon. This will only last for a few more minutes.”

 _What did she mean it would be over soon? How would she know?_ For some reason a feeling of cold dread rushed through him. _What in the hell had she done to him?_ “What did you...?” A deep groan escaped him cutting off his words.

As the pain swept through him, it was all Sam could do to stay upright. He felt as if he were being burned alive. Thankfully, Maerysa was right, he’d only had to endure the pain for a few minutes before it was over. 

Sam stood straighter, his eyes searching hers.

“How do you feel?” She caressed his chest with teasing fingers. “All better?”

A smile began to spread across his face. He felt powerful and strong. As a matter of fact he had never felt better in his life. “I feel good.”

“You do at that.” She whispered invitingly as she slid her hand lower. 

“What are you doing?”

Maerysa moved closer. “What does it feel like I’m doing?”

Laughter escaped him. “I didn’t mean that.” He knew exactly what that was she was doing. “I meant earlier.”

“Oh.” She couldn’t believe it. She was nervous. This was the test. In this moment she would find out for sure if Sam was really hers or not. “Our kind can’t have children.” She quietly reminded him.

Nothing but empathy showed on Sam’s face. “Then how do you....?”

“We have to take other children and..”

“Wait.” A look of confusion crossed Sam’s face as he struggled to understand. “So you take human children for your own.”

She shook her head. “Not quite. We turn them into our kind.” She quickly added before he could ask, “It doesn’t hurt them. They’re transformation happens while they sleep. They never feel a thing.”

Sam glanced down at the children sleeping in a large bed in the center of the room. He couldn’t believe he was going to be a father. “How can I help?”

With a relieved grin Maerysa turned and walked towards the children. “You’ve already done your part, the next step is up to me. Now what you’re about to see can be a little frightening if you’re not used to it but...” 

“Your tentacles?” At her nod Sam continued, “I remember seeing them before when..” _Why couldn’t he remember?_

Maerysa quickly began speaking, “My tentacles hadn’t fully deflated yet. That’s why you saw them, usually they’re inside my neck until they’re needed.”

Sam watched in stunned fascination as Maerysa morphed into her true self and her tentacles slowly ascended from the side of her neck. 

With gentle hands Maerysa gently scooped up one of the children into her arms and carefully placed her tentacles on either side of the little girl's neck. Within a few minutes she laid the still sleeping child back down and reached for the next child.

A loud sound echoed around them causing Maerysa to jump. She couldn’t stop now. It was too soon. If she didn’t finish changing all of the children she would lose it all. With her death her species would die out. There would be no more Manarsiasts. She couldn’t let that happen. She gave Sam a horrified look.

“It’s okay. I’ll go check it out.” At the worried look on her face he added, “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.” Without another word he walked into the hallway.

Dean cringed at the sound of his hurried footsteps echoing around him. _Damn it._ He was trying to be quiet and not announce to all and Sundry that he was there but he had forgotten how much schools seemed to echo especially when they were empty or abandoned.

“You can stop right there.”

His mouth fell open in shock as he came to a stop in front of Sam. He couldn’t believe it. Relief washed over him. After all the time he had spent worrying about his brother Sam was okay. As he started to rush towards him he didn’t notice Sam take a small step backwards. “What happened? How did you get away?”

A look of confusion began to spread across Sam’s face. He didn’t have a clue what the strange man was talking about.

Dean could have kicked his own ass. His brother had probably suffered all kinds of traumatic torture and instead of getting him out of there he had stopped to ask questions. “It’s okay, Sammy. I’ll get you out of here. I just have to gank the freaking monster that took you first.”

 _Gank?_ Sam saw red at the word. He didn’t know who this man was but he had come into his home talking of killing his mate. He would have to die. Sam lowered his head and narrowed his eyes as he snarled, “You will not harm, Maerysa.”

“Who the hell is...?” _What the hell was wrong with his brother?_ A sigh of frustration escaped him. It couldn’t be... could it? _Was Sam actually trying to protect the monster?_ He had heard something about that. _What was it called? Something like Stucky Syndrome... No that wasn’t it. Damn it. The only other thing he could think of was Sherlock Holmes Syndrome but he was pretty sure that wasn’t right either._ Dean shook his head he didn’t have time to worry about that now. He had to get Sam the hell out of there.

Pride ran through Sam’s body as he stood taller and puffed out his chest. “She is my mate and you will die before I let you harm her or our children.”

“Sam, I...” He couldn’t believe that Sam was threatening him, his own brother.

Sam quickly interrupted. He didn’t like hearing a stranger say his name. “You keep saying my name as if you know me, as if you expect me to know you.”

Disbelief crossed Dean’s face. “You do know me Sam, it’s me.”

“Hello, Me.” Even though he thought it was a very strange name for the man to have Sam gave him a polite not. “Just because I now know your name does not mean I will not kill you if I have to.”

 _Son of a bitch._ Dean muttered beneath his breath. This was going from bad to worse. _How could Sam not remember him?_ “No, My name is Dean. I’m your brother, Sam.” Dean took a step closer. “Come on, you have to remember me.”

“I don’t know who you are but I would like you to leave now.” Sam pointed back down the hall. “My mate is changing the children.” His eyes misted with the thought of impending fatherhood. “Please, leave.” There was something about the man standing in front of him, he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was but he knew he really didn’t want to kill this man not unless he didn’t have a choice. “I don’t want to have to kill you.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t do that.” The mention of the children brought Dean back in focus. For a minute he had almost forgotten all about the children in his joy and pain at seeing his brother who couldn’t recognize him. 

With a sad look on his face Sam stared at the other man. “I am sorry too. I did not want to have to kill you. But I think you will understand that I don’t have a choice. I do this to protect my family.” 

“I’m your brother, Sam.” Dean pleaded. “Come on. Try to remember. I am your family.”

“You’re not my family. My family is being made at this very moment and you will not destroy that. You will die.” Sam took a step forward towards Dean and a loud sound of metal connecting to bone vibrated throughout the hallway. 

“What the hell did you do?” Dean glanced down at Sammy lying still on the floor with blood rushing from his head wound. He raised his head and glared at Garth. “You hit my brother on the head with a shovel!”

“Relax, Dean. I didn’t hit him that hard. It was only a little love tap.” Garth explained as he spun the shovel in his hand. 

“Love tap my ass. He’s bleeding like a stuck pig.” Dean yelled, his lips were curled in anger.

“Head wounds always bleed profusely, Dean. You know that.” He rushed to reassure him before he added, “Besides, if I hadn’t hit him he would have killed you.”

The look on Dean’s face said he was unconvinced. There was no way his brother would ever hurt him and he said as much to Garth.

“You’re right. You’re brother Sam wouldn’t hurt you. At least not on purpose.” Garth began speaking. “But that...” He pointed at the unconscious Winchester lying on the floor at their feet. “That isn’t your brother.”

They could stand their all night arguing over whether Sam would or wouldn’t have tried to kill him but right now they had better things to do like killing a monster and saving ten sure to be terrified little children.

Before Dean could say anything else Garth began pulling handcuffs, rope and tape from his coat pockets and quickly kneeled down beside Sam. “He should be out for awhile but I think we should tie him up just in case.”

Dean nodded. “You got this?” He had to go finish what they had came for.

“Yeah, I got it. I’ll join you as soon as I’m done.” Garth shooed Dean away. After he finished tying up Dean’s brother he would help him find and save the children. He just prayed they weren’t too late.

 

A sense of urgency swept through Dean as he rushed down the hall, he did a sweeping glance into each classroom as he passed by. He had to find that monster. _What the hell was taking so long? From what he remembered that thing was huge so how good could it really be at hiding?_

Dean rolled his eyes as he rushed off in the direction of a muffled sound. _Of course it had to be coming from what used to be the Home Economics classroom._

With his gun in one hand and the big knife in the other Dean walked into the room. His voice was loud and commanding as he saw the monster leaning over the children. “Get the hell away from those kids.” 

The monster glared at him with hate filled eyes as she stood and quickly began to change.

His mouth hung open in shock. Before he could say anything, before he could even blink the monster had turned in on itself and suddenly a gorgeous woman with flaming red hair stood before him. _Damn._ Now he was beginning to understand why Sam was acting weird. Even though Benny had warned him, if he hadn’t seen it for himself he would never have believed that the monster could turn into this. 

“What have you done with my mate?” She snarled as she advanced towards him.

“Easy.” Dean raised his gun and leveled it at her. “He’s not your anything. He’s my brother. And I’ll be damned if you can have him. There’s no way in hell I’ll let you turn my brother into whatever kind of misbegotten monster you are.”

She tossed back her head and laughed. 

Dean suppressed a shiver at the sound. “What’s so damn funny?”

“You’re too late. Sam already belongs to me. He will be back here any minute and he will...” She let her words trail off at the look of smug satisfaction on his face. “What did you do?”

A devilish smirk played at the corners of Dean’s mouth as he stared at her with unmitigated glee. “Sam ain’t coming back.” He pressed on at the look of dawning on her face. “You see he can’t even if he wanted to. And believe me he doesn’t want to.” Dean was glad she couldn’t see through that little white lie. Besides it was only a lie for awhile. He had every intention of getting his brother back to his former self if it was the last thing he did.

Sadness washed over her as she stared at her mate’s brother. She should have killed him when she had the chance but she hadn’t wanted to hurt her mate like that. Granted he would have gotten over it as soon as the change had taken him but it would have made her job of convincing him that much harder. She tossed her hair back, her eyes flashed fire as she snarled, “Why couldn’t you have just left us alone?”

“I could have done that. If you hadn’t kidnapped children, or my brother but you couldn’t just...” His words trailed off as she interrupted.

“You’re kind killed my mate. I was the last of my species.” Tears filled her eyes as she spoke. “What was I supposed to do let my kind die off? Cease to exist?”

“I’m good with that.” Dean nodded his head for emphasis. “Better you than innocent children or my brother.” 

“How dare you!” Her hair bounced around her shoulders like flames as she stalked closer. “I would never harm my children. Look at them!” She pointed to where all ten of the children lay snuggled in a large bed sound sleep unaware of what was transpiring a few feet in front of them. “They are completely safe. They won’t remember any of this. The change will happen while they’re sleeping and when they wake up it will be as if I have always been their mother. They will know no other. I will raise them as my own.” While it pained her to her core that she had lost another mate at least this time she had managed to complete the ritual in time and she would have her children to comfort her.

“That’s not going to happen.” He was going to make sure the children would go back to their families no matter what he had to do.

She raised her eyebrow as she took another step closer. “And do you think you’re going to be the one to stop me... all by your self?”

As Dean’s mouth widened into a grin he made sure she saw the second set of teeth that descended. “I am absolutely positive.” His grin grew impossibly wider. “You don’t get my brother and you don’t get the children.” The grin he wore morphed into a arrogant smirk as he whispered, “You lose.”

She let out a bloodcurdling scream as she rushed at Dean, her lips were pulled back from her teeth in a horrific snarl. But before she could even begin to change into her true self Dean leapt into the fray, pure instinct warned him that letting her find the time to change back would be a very bad thing. 

From the moment of attack Dean was thankful he was a vampire. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind he would not have made it out of the building alive if he had only been human. 

Every thing she had, every part in her arsenal she threw at him, her claws scraped against his skin as they sliced up his shirt. Dean hissed in pain but didn’t let the feeling of blood pouring from his open wound deter him.

He didn’t know how he managed it but somehow, with some stroke of luck he was able to get behind her, wrap his arms around her waist, pull her back against him and hold her tight. “This is where your plan ends.” His vampire teeth grazed her neck. “This is where you end.”

Without another word Dean bit down and rich, tangy blood rushed into his mouth and he groaned with the pleasure of it.

She didn’t accept her fate calmly but fought against him but it was too late. Once Dean had gotten a taste of her blood there was no way he was letting her escape him.

As soon as he was sure she was dead, Dean let her lifeless body fall to the floor. But what happened next amazed him. With his mouth hanging open in shock Dean watched as she began to fold in on herself until for just a moment she resembled the monster that had taken Sam. She kept disintegrating until nothing was left but an oily spot on the floor at his feet.

“Damn.” Dean couldn’t deny that it was convenient. It was really too bad all monsters didn’t do the same thing. It would make keeping monsters a secret from the general public a lot easier and not to mention clean up would be a breeze.

“Dean!” 

He jumped at the sound of his name. “In here, Garth.”

“Is that the...?” Garth pointed to the oily spot on the floor.

He nodded. “Yep, that’s it.”

“Wow.” It was the only word Garth could think to say.

Dean glanced over at the still sleeping children. “Do you think...?”

“They’re just sleeping now. I think they’re going to be okay.” Garth walked over to the bed and gently brushed back the hair out of a little girl’s face. “Thanks to you.”

If there was one thing Dean didn’t like it was a compliment. He didn’t know how to take them. All he could do was ignore it as he quickly cleared his throat. “Call in an anonymous tip to the sheriff’s office. And let them know the kids have been found unharmed. We’ll wait around the corner to make sure they find the kids.”

Garth pulled his phone from his jacket and made the call while Dean walked back to where they had left Sam.

“You ready?” Dean asked as Garth walked closer.

“Yeah, the sheriff is on his way.” He snapped his phone shut and slipped it back into his jacket. “Let’s get Sam out of here.”

“Sam’s blood.” Dean pointed to the blood on the floor that was seeping from his brother’s head wound as he leaned down and pulled his brother up.

“Way a head of you.” Garth calmly picked up the bucket that was sitting near a rag mop. Without a word he poured the whole contents onto the pool of blood. “Now even if they decide to test it they won’t get anything.”

Dean’s nose wrinkled as a pungent smell assailed his sense of smell. “What’s in that?”

Garth laid a finger to his nose. “It’s my own little concoction. I thought it might come in handy.” He quickly grabbed Sam’s free arm and put it around his neck. “Let’s get out of here.”

“What the hell is this?” Dean snapped the question five minutes later as he stared in disbelief at the car Garth had _borrowed_

Garth grinned. “What does it look like?” At the look on Dean’s face he quickly figured now was not the time for teasing. “I told the owners it was an emergency and that I would bring it back as soon as I was done.”

“And they let you have it just like that?”

He shrugged as his grin widened. _What could he say people trusted him._ “I have a very trustworthy face.”

“Uh huh.” Dean muttered as he helped get Sam into the backseat. He couldn’t believe Garth had actually borrowed a hearse. A hearse! Dean quickly climbed in front. “How much longer?”

“The dispatcher said less than five minutes.” The words were barely out of Garth’s mouth before the sounds of sirens grew louder. Garth quickly turned on the ignition and eased the car to the end of the road and waited until a procession of sheriff’s deputies and police cars had surrounded the building. 

As soon as the first officer had come out of the building carrying one of the children Garth turned onto the busy street. Now that the children were safe it was time to see to Sam.

 

A soft sigh escaped Dean as he stared out the window. _Why did this kind of crap always keep happening to one or the other of them?_ He released another sigh. He didn’t have time to wallow right now. There were more important things to do. Somehow he had to figure out a way to save Sam. And he didn’t have the first clue how to go about it... again.

Garth glanced over at Dean to find the vampire staring at him with unblinking eyes. He quickly gave his attention back to the road. “You okay there, Dean?”

Dean gave a barely perceptible nod. He wasn’t in the mood to talk about Sam just yet so he said the first thing that popped into his mind. “Yeah. I’m just so freaking hungry.” Loud growling noises from the pit of his stomach echoed throughout the car as if to emphasize the proof of Dean’s words.

Slowly as to not draw attention to himself Garth raised his shoulders and lowered his head, like a turtle trying to hide in its shell.

“What the hell are you doing, Garth?” Dean leaned his head to the side and stared at the other hunter.

At first Garth didn’t know what to say but he knew he would have to tell the truth. While it was a necessary evil of his job as a hunter he really hated to lie. With his head almost sitting directly on top of his shoulders Garth mumbled, “I thought out of sight, out of mind would be the best course of action.”

 _Out of sight, out of mind?_ It took a few minutes for it to dawn on Dean exactly what Garth had meant. “You think I want to bite you?”

Garth swallowed hard as he answered honestly. “Well, yeah. I’ve been told somewhat hurtfully that I am all neck.” He turned to grin at Dean nervously. “And we all know vampires have a thing for necks.”

“Well you can rest assured that your neck...” Dean glared out the window refusing to look at Garth. “All of you is safe from me.”

With a doubtful tone Garth mumbled, “I don’t know, Dean. I’ve been told I’m very delicious.”

Dean suppressed a shudder. He really didn’t want to know. Hell, he didn’t even want to think about it. He had to shut this conversation down now before it went from bad to worse. He turned his head and fixed Garth was a hungry stare. “Are you trying to tempt me?”

“What?” Garth’s voice rose an octave higher. “Who me? Tempt you?” He quickly shook his head. His eyes wide with horror. “No. I would never...I... uh...”

“You can relax.” Dean bit back laughter as he confessed, “I was just teasing.”

“That was cold, Dean.” Garth kept his tone light and unassuming. The last thing he wanted to do was offend or anger Dean. Every hunter worth his salt knew that newly turned vampires had a hard time controlling their emotions. He had to keep everything nice and easy if he wanted Dean to stay as calm as possible.

“Sorry.” Dean gave in as he lost interest in the conversation. He glanced over the seat at his brother lying unconscious on the back seat. “We need to get back to the Bunker before Sam comes to.” The last thing they needed was Sam who didn’t know who he was on their hands. 

“Don’t worry, Dean.” Garth pressed the gas pedal down a little further. “I’ll have you back home in two shakes of a cat’s tail.”

Dean didn’t know what that meant exactly but he hoped it meant they would be back home soon.

 

Garth was as good as his word and had them back at the Bunker sooner than Dean had expected. As soon as Garth had parked the hearse in front of the bunker both men got out and half carried half dragged Sam inside.

Dean wasn’t sure what he should do next but chaining Sam up seemed like a good idea at least until he could figure out his next move.

The clink of the chains connecting echoed through the room as they laid Sam on the cot and made sure his shackles were tight.

Garth straightened. “Well, that’s as much as we can do now. I guess I had better be heading out.”

“You’re leaving?” He hadn’t thought Garth would leave quiet so soon.

“I have to.” Garth nodded. “I promised the owners of the hearse that I would bring it back to them as soon as we were done, remember?” At the look on Dean’s face he quickly added, “Don’t worry, Dean. You can do this.”

Although he wasn’t so sure Dean nodded his head in agreement as he followed Garth out of the room.

A loud painful groan escaped Sam as he woke to a pounding headache. _What in the hell had happened._ He slowly opened his eyes to see the man who called himself Dean sitting in the chair across the room staring at him. In that moment Sam knew the man had been as good as his word. Maerysa and his children were gone. Pure rage rolled through his body. He winced as the pounding in his head grew worse.

“It’s about time you woke up.” Dean sat up straighter in his chair. “I was beginning to think you would be out for awhile longer.”

Nothing but dead silence greeted him.

“Come on, Sam. Say something.” Dean cajoled as he stood up and walked closer to his brother. They had to talk this out. Maybe he would get lucky and he could get through to Sam.

With pure hatred shining from his eyes Sam glared up at the man standing in front of him. “What would you like me to say? That I understand and I forgive you?” Sam narrowed his eyes. “How about something more honest instead? Would you like me to tell you that I have every intention of killing you as soon as I get the chance?”

“What?” Dean spluttered. “Why? Why would you want to do that?”

Sam’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Seriously? How can you ask me that?” He raised up and leaned as close as the length of his chains would allow. “You killed my mate and my children. And you can not deny it. For that you deserve to die and make no mistake you will die for destroying my family.”

“I did not kill any children.” Dean skimmed right over the mate business. There was no sense in talking about that. He knew there was no way he could lie about it, he had killed the monster. It was prudent not to bring it up. “The children are safe and back home with their parents.”

“Maerysa and I were there parents!” Sam snarled as pain for what he had lost shot through him. “I had a mate. I was to be a father and you took all of that away from me.” He took a deep breath as he practically seethed with anger and the need for revenge. “Tell me. Have I wronged you in some way that I can not remember?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

"I want to know why you would destroy my family." Sam's hatred permeated the room as he spoke. "We were doing nothing wrong. And I..." 

But Dean couldn't let that pass without saying something. "Nothing wrong? You can honestly lay there and tell me that you don't think you were doing anything wrong."

A contemptuous look crept across Sam's face. "We were becoming a family."

"Your mons..." Dean coughed before he changed what he was going to say. "Your mate was destroying innocent children."

"She was creating our children!" Sam's temper flared further.

"By destroying human children." Dean's nails dug into the palm of his hands as he tried to control his own temper. 

"Why do you keep saying the word destroy?” Sam snarled the question. “No one was destroyed as you put it. Those children were becoming like us; they were not being harmed in the process. They would have lived full and happy lives as..."

This time Dean didn't even bother to try and stop himself from interrupting, "As monsters?" He ignored the pissed off look on Sam's face at his use of the word monster and continued, "I got a news flash for you, Sam. Those children were already living happy lives as human children with their real parents until your mate.." Pure hatred dripped from the word as he spoke. "Decided to _destroy_ their lives.” He glared at Sam. “But it's over and done with so why are we even still talking about this?"

“I’m trying to understand why you would do this.” Sam stared into Dean’s eyes. “I want to make sure that I have all the facts before I kill you.”

“Damn it, Sam.” Dean had to admit Sam’s focus on killing him was starting to wear a little thin. “You’ve got to snap out of it.”

Sam stared up at him from his position on the bed. “How exactly do you expect me to as you put ‘snap out of it’?” 

That was a very good question and one he really didn’t have the answer for. 

But before Dean could think of an appropriate response Sam continued, “Tell me. If someone had killed your mate...” But for some reason everything inside of him balked at the thought of the man in front of him being mated to anyone other than himself. He didn’t understand why he felt that way. _What the hell was wrong with him?_ His mate hadn't been dead that long and he was already panting after another one. He shouldn’t want or need another one. And especially not the one who was responsible for destroying his family. But there was something about the man standing in front of him that called to him. It was as if Dean belonged to him, or at the very least they belonged to each other. He shook his head to rid himself of the disturbing thoughts and quickly got back to making his point. “If a loved one was murdered, taken from you and you were powerless to stop it wouldn’t you feel as I do now? Wouldn’t you want... wouldn’t you need your revenge?”

 _Damn it all to hell._ Dean knew how Sam felt it. He had felt the same way for a lot years. But this situation was different and he said as much to Sam.

A dubious look slid across Sam’s face. “How is my pain and my need to make you pay for what you have done any different?”

“Because our mother was human not some monst...” At the look on Sam’s face Dean let the word trail off once again before he could finish it. He didn’t want to antagonize Sam any more than he already had. All he wanted was his brother back.

“This is getting us nowhere.”

Sam’s lips curled back in a snarl. “Then leave and think on my revenge. I know I will be.”

The ringing of his cell phone interrupted whatever else Dean’s was going to say.

“I’ll be back.” Dean’s voice was soft with promise as he turned and walked out of the room.

 

“How’s Sam?” The question was out of his mouth before Dean had barely had the time to answer his phone and say hello.

“He’s pretty much the same, Garth. All he seems to want to say is how much he wants to kill me. And I just don’t understand why he is still acting this way. Shouldn’t he be over it by now?” Dean ran his hand through his hair in frustration as he held the phone to his ear with his other hand. “The minute I ganked the monster the children started to reverse back to human. You saw it.” Dean stared at the locked door where his brother was being held captive. “So why is Sam still part monster? Why didn’t it work on Sam?”

Garth was at a loss. He didn’t know what to tell Dean. It wasn’t as if they had a lot of information on the monster. But at the sound of hopelessness in Dean's voice he knew he had to say something, anything to try and give his friend some measure of hope. “I’m not sure, Dean. Maybe it was because the children weren’t fully converted yet. Or maybe it just takes longer for it to work in adults.” At Dean’s continued silence he continued, “You have got to remember, Dean that for all intents and purposes the man you have chained up isn’t really your brother.” Garth rushed to reassure him. “At least not yet.”

“So what do I do? How do I get him back?” Dean fired off the questions in quick succession hoping like hell Garth had the answers he needed. 

With the only advice he had to give Dean, Garth was certainly glad they were having this conversation through the phone. “The only thing I can think to do is what we had to do before.”

“Crowley? You have got to be kidding me.” Disbelief colored his voice as he spoke. “He wasn’t really such a big help the first time.”

“Not to play the devil’s advocate here, Dean but Crowley did give us the information we needed, he showed you how to get in and out of Purgatory and he...”

“Yeah.” He mumbled as a frustrated sign echoed through the phone. “Just whose side are you on?”

“I’m just saying, Dean.” Garth mumbled quickly. “Without Crowley’s help neither one of us would have gotten very far in the saving Sam camp.”

As much as he might wish otherwise Dean couldn’t deny what Garth was saying. Crowley had helped him find his brother. “I guess I have to summon The King of Hell.” Before he ended their conversation Dean had one more thing to say, “Thanks, Garth.”

“Don’t mention it.”

 

Within minutes of ending the call with Garth Dean had once again gathered all the ingredients he needed for the spell. It wasn’t long before the King of Hell was standing in front of him.

“To what do I owe....” Crowley looked around the room. “Where’s Moose?” He had the most horrible feeling if Dean had been unable to save his brother there was only one reason he would have been summoned. He took a hasty step backwards. “Now, Dean. You can’t blame me. I took you to where Sam was being held and I told you everything I could about the Manar...”

Dean shook his head. “No. That’s not it. “ He didn’t have any time to waste explaining so he got right to the point. “We got Sam but even though I ganked that bitch Sam is still a monster. He doesn’t remember me. As a matter of fact he wants to kill me for killing his mate.”

A wave of relief washed over Crowley. Finally he could breath freely without having to worry about that monster coming after his most delicious self. “Well, congratulations and all that. But if that’s all I really must be going.” Crowley rubbed his hands together. “After all I do have important matters of state to attend to.”

Once again it looked as if Crowley only cared about himself. Which Dean knew it was probably a fact. “Damn it, Crowley!” Dean snarled as he took a step closer. “I summoned you here for a reason.”

Although, he didn’t appreciate Dean’s tone, The King of Hell decided to humor the hunter. He had after all taken care of his Manarsiast problem. So it kind of felt as if he owed him one. “Oh, do tell. I’m all ears.”

“When the monster died the children had already begun to change back but Sam hasn’t.” He stared at Crowley with worried eyes. “Why is that? What can I do? There has got to be a way to snap Sam out of it.”

“I’m sorry to disappoint, Dean but I honestly don’t know.” He only had a small amount of knowledge about that particular monster and curing a human wasn’t part of it. “This is not my area of expertise.”

“Crowley, please.”

Crowley’s eyes widened with wonder. He had never heard Dean beg before. It made him feel all powerful as if he held the key to Dean’s happiness in his hands and it was a feeling he would love to have repeated in the near future. His brow crinkled in thought. “There might be one thing.”

“What is it?” Despite his best efforts to control it Dean’s heart raced with hope. “I’ll try anything.”

If there was one thing Crowley was sure of and that was that Dean wasn’t going to like what he had to say. “The only thing that might work, and that’s a big if is an oubliette.”

Dean was shaking his head almost before Crowley was finished speaking. “No. Hell no. We’re not putting Sam in one of those things.”

 _Over exaggeration much?_ “Do you even know what an oubliette is?” The look on Crowley’s face proved he had his doubts.

“Yes, I know what it is.” It was all Dean could do not to answer Crowley with a very rude gesture. “I’ve seen _Labyrinth_. And I don’t want Sam forgetting me or....”

Crowley’s mouth popped open. He couldn’t believe it. The oldest Winchester was basing his knowledge on a movie. Not that it was a bad movie of course but still... “Correct me if I’m wrong but your brother already doesn’t remember who you are. Am I right?” At Dean’s reluctant nod he continued, “Then that’s not even an issue.” Crowley paused as he leaned his head slightly to the side and stared at Dean. “Tell me. What do you really have to lose?”

For a brief moment Dean stared at Crowley speechless before he muttered, “How would this work?”

The King of Hell couldn’t help but notice that Dean didn’t say he was right but he chose to ignore it just this once. “A real oubliette isn’t exactly like the one you saw in that particular movie. For one thing time passes differently; it’s faster in there. So a few days in it should give enough time for Sam to, as you say, snap out of it.”

“So what you’re saying is that the answer is time?” At Crowley’s nod Dean added, “Then why bother with the oubliette at all? I can just keep Sam chained up until he...”

 _Of all the..._ Crowley rolled his eyes. “You said you not only wanted your brother to ‘snap out of it’ but you wanted him to not want to kill you anymore. Am I right?”

Dean nodded his head.

Crowley kept a tight grip on his temper as he spoke. He really hated having to explain himself. Especially when it looked like his expertly given advice was being doubted or was going to go unused and ignored. “Once Sam is in the oubliette he’ll have the time he needs to change back into himself. In the meantime he will forget why he’s angry with you and why he wants to kill you.”

A look of dawning slowly spread across Dean’s face. He hated to admit, even to himself that Crowley was right. But he knew a good plan when he heard one especially when it was the only plan being offered.

“Well then.” Crowley smirked. “The oubliette it is.” He had a hard time trying to hide his glee at the thought. He had always wanted to try out hell’s oubliette on a Winchester, granted he had hoped it would be Dean; what with them being best buds and all. But he was willing to make do with Sam. “We can grab Sam and be on our way.”

There was something about the look on Crowley’s face that set Dean ill at ease. He didn’t trust demons as far as he could through them and especially not the one standing in front of him. “That’s okay. I got this.”

“You got this? What do you mean?” Crowley’s voice was full of doubt. “You can’t just throw Moose in any old room and expect it to work. It has to actually be a real oubliette. I think it’s better if we take Sam to...”

Dean shook his head emphatically as he quickly interrupted. There was no way his brother was going back to hell for any reason. “I mean I got this. We have one here.”

“Here?” Crowley glanced around the room. The tiniest bit of him couldn’t help but wonder what other secrets this place held. What he wouldn’t give to be able to have one little sneaky peek around the place. Well, obviously he couldn’t give up his soul that ship had sailed a very long time ago but he would definitely consider giving up a demon or two. As he stared down the corridor at all the presumably locked doors, his palms practically itched to open them. Make that three demons at least.

“Yeah.” Dean nodded. “We came across a mention of it when we were searching for information on the monster that had Sam.”

Crowley didn’t offer to help, he was positive Dean would’ve turned him down before he could’ve gotten the words out of his mouth. “Well, then. It looks as if you have gotten matters firmly in hand.”

Before Crowley could disappear Dean called his name. “Crowley.”

“Yes?” The King of Hell glanced back at Dean.

As much as it pained him Dean knew what he had to say. He had, after all come up with a way to save his brother. Dean felt he owed him that much at least. “Thank you.”

He hoped Dean would remember his help in the future. With a slight nod of his head Crowley disappeared.

As soon as Crowley had left it only took Dean a moment to find where the oubliette was located and open it up. He was shocked to find it was completely stocked with food and drink. There was even a bed in the corner beside a little bathroom. As prisons go it wasn’t half bad. Now all that was left was to get Sam in it. Fighting demons, monsters, any kind of denizen of hell would be preferable to what he had to do now. With a heartsick sigh Dean walked to where Sam was being kept.

“What was that all about?” Sam asked as Dean walked back into the room.

Dean pretended to be confused. “What?”

“I could have sworn I heard you talking to someone.” Although, why it mattered to him Sam couldn’t exactly say.

He shook his head while inside he cringed. Dean had thought the room was sound proof but apparently not when the door was left open. Next time he would make sure the damn door was shut. “It was nothing.”

Sam took him at his word and let the matter drop. “So have you come to release me?”

“No.” He wished that he could. He hated the idea of locking Sam inside an oubliette or anywhere else for that matter. But he didn’t have a choice. Dean would do what he had to do; he would do anything to be able to have his brother back. And if that meant locking him in an oubliette that’s what he would do. “I’m sorry.”

His eyebrows drew together in confusion. “For what?”

“This.” And without another warning Dean drew his fist back and clocked Sam. 

 

Getting Sam to the oubliette turned out to be more of a challenge than Dean was expecting. Not only was his brother big but he was heavy too. But finally after much cussing Dean was able to get Sam inside the oubliette.

Since there was no possible way of escaping Dean didn’t bother to chain Sam up again. There was no need. The only exit was through the oubliette’s ceiling. And even though his brother was tall, he wasn’t quite that tall. He was positive that no matter how hard Sam tried there was no way he would be able to reach it. After he made sure Sam was comfortable Dean climbed up the ladder and pulled it up after him. Now all he had to do was wait. Which wasn’t exactly Dean’s strong suit.

 

The next morning Dean raced down the hall to where he was keeping Sam. He didn’t even stop to grab something to eat. There was no time. He needed to check on Sam. Hopefully there would be a big change in him.

Dean skidded to halt at the trap door and quickly pulled it back. He got on his stomach to peer down inside. “Sam?”

“Who?”

Cold dread washed over Dean. This was just great now his brother didn’t even remember his own name. And then it dawned on him, this was exactly what he had needed to happen.

“Do you remember anything?” Dean called down as he pulled the ladder towards him.

“Not really.” Sam leaned his head back to see the man looking down at him. “I don’t know how I got here or even why I’m in this place. What’s going on?”

“I’ll explain it all in a few minutes.” Dean didn’t want to lay on the floor all day explaining to Sam everything that had happened, he needed to do that face to face. “Step back, I’ll come down.”

“Okay.” Sam moved further back into the room. “Hurry, Dean.”

Dean was in the process of lowering the ladder down into the oubliette when what Sam had said dawned on him. If his brother couldn’t remember his own name than how could he remember his? He quickly jerked the ladder back up before his brother could grab it. “Nice try, Sam.” Dean whispered as the small kernel of hope that had flared to life inside of him died. Even though he should have known it would take longer than one day to cure Sam, Dean couldn’t keep the feeling of crushing defeat at bay. _How much longer was it going to take?_

“That was close, Dean.” Sam purred in a husky voice before he added in a soft whisper, “I almost had you.” 

The singsong way Sam whispered those words sent cold chills running up and down Dean’s spine. If he wasn’t more careful his brother was going to have his ass before he was cured.

“Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, asshole.” Without another word Dean slammed the trap door shut again.

A little less than a week later at roughly three o’clock in the morning a loud but muffled sound jerked Dean awake from an almost sound sleep. He had taken to sleeping on the floor beside the trapped door. It was a way for him to keep an eye on his brother, or in this case an ear and it was the only way he could at the moment.

Dean rubbed his eyes with the tips of his fingers as he slowly sat up. He could have sworn he had heard Sam calling his name. Hopelessness shot through him as he realized he must have been dreaming. After all this time his brother was still part monster who wanted to kill him. Dean ran his hands through his hair. This just wasn't working. It was definitely beginning to look as if Crowley had given him the wrong information. After all it wouldn't be the first time the demon had lied to him. But Dean refused to give up on Sam. There had to be another way to help his brother. He didn’t care what it took, he would do whatever he had to do, no matter what it was in order to save him from...

Another muffled thump beneath him jerked Dean from his thoughts and had him scrambling to open the trap door. “Sam?” He yelled his brother’s name as he raised the door.

“Yeah, Dean. It’s me.”

He was in the process of lowering the ladder when it dawned on him that this could be another trick. Dean quickly pulled the ladder back up. “How do I know it’s really you this time, Sam?”

“Damn it, Dean. It’s me.”

Dean shook his head. “Just because you say that it is doesn’t necessarily prove anything. You’re in an oubliette, Sam. You shouldn’t remember who I am or anything else.”

Sam rolled his eyes as a frustrated sigh escaped him. “That’s what happened in the movie, Dean. This isn't _Labyrinth_. It's real life. I'm not Sarah, and you're definitely not Jareth." Although, if he was honest with himself he would admit that he wouldn’t mind seeing Dean in those pants. As a matter of fact he would give a lot to see that very thing. And to be able to slowly peel them down Dean’s.... Sam shook his head. _Now was definitely not the time._

“But Crowley said..”

Another sigh echoed through the oubliette. “What exactly did Crowley say?”

He thought for a minute. “Crowley said that once you were in the oubliette that you would have enough time to change back and forget why you were angry with me and wanted to kill me.”

A sharp pain sliced through Sam at the thought of wanting to kill his brother. He loved Dean there was no way he ever wanted to hurt him. Except of course when he couldn’t remember who he was. “I’m sorry, Dean.”

“For what?”

“Oh, the list is endless.” Sam tossed his hair out of his eyes as he raised his head to look up at Dean peering down at him. “But let’s start with wanting to kill you. I would never...”

“You’re weren’t yourself.” As far as Dean was concerned it was over, in the past, bygones.

Sam nodded. “Yeah, but still.” He paused. They really needed to talk face to face. Sam took a deep breath. “Are you going to let me out of here or not?”

Dean shook his head. “I’m still thinking about it.” 

“Jerk.”

“Bitch.” Dean muttered automatically before his breath caught in his throat as hope flared to life once again. “Is that really you?”

“Who in the hell do you think it is?” Sam asked through clenched teeth. “Never mind. I’m not a monster anymore, Dean. I’m just me.”

Dean could barely contain himself as he grabbed the ladder again. Crowley’s suggestion had worked. He had finally gotten his brother back. A part of him wanted to dance and even sing at the top of his lungs but he settled for lowering the ladder into the oubliette.

Sam was half way up the ladder when Dean held out his hand. With a huge grin Sam grabbed a hold of Dean’s hand and let him help him the rest of the way.

The minute Sam was free of the oubliette Dean pulled him into a big bear hug before letting go and taking a step back. “It’s good to have you back.”

“It’s good to be back.” Sam started to grin but his face fell. “Dean, I have to say that...” He ran his fingers through his hair as he pushed it back from his face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to...” _How could he have wanted to, much less tried to kill his own brother?_

He quickly shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, Sam. I know it wasn’t you. I...” But before Dean could say anything else the smell of fresh blood wafted through the air. His eyes flashed as hunger darkened his gaze. With a gasp of horror he could feel his vampire teeth descending into his mouth. Dean couldn't stop staring, he couldn't force himself to look away from the fresh human blood that covered his brother's knuckles. A sharp stab of hunger shot through his stomach almost bringing him to his knees. He had never felt this hungry in his whole life. A low, deep growl rumbled in his chest as he took a step closer. He couldn't wait any longer. He was starving. After all he had done to save Sam surely he wouldn't begrudge him one little taste.

“What the hell, Dean?” Sam snapped as Dean began to crowd his personal space. He took a hasty step backwards. If he wasn’t sure he was seeing things he would have sworn it looked like his brother wanted to eat him.

He raised his head to look Sam in the eyes. _How could he have even thought for a second about drinking from his own brother?_ “I’m sorry, Sam. I didn’t mean...” His voice was thick as he spoke around the extra set of teeth.

Sam couldn’t miss the sharp teeth that now crowded his brother’s mouth. “You’re a....” He couldn’t even say the word much less think it as shock and horror chased each other across his face. “What did you do, Dean?”

The smell of blood felt as if it permeated the room, as if it was calling just to him. Dean’s hands clenched into fists at his sides as he fought the desire for his brother’s blood. He was determined to control his hunger. He would be damned if he attacked his own brother. Despite how much he might relish the thought of doing exactly that. “I did what I had to do.”

“I can’t believe you would...” _Why would Dean willing allow himself to be bitten? To allow himself to be turned into a vampire... it just didn’t make any sense. Dean would never do that. Except that he did. But why?_

Dean didn’t need to hear the questions Sam had, he could see every one of them as they raced across his brother’s face. “I did it to save you. It was the only way.”

Sam’s mouth dropped open. “So you went out and risked your life so you could get yourself bitten by some random vampire just to save me from...”

“Staying a monster for the rest of your life." Dean quickly finished the rest of Sam's sentence for him. "You bet your ass I did. And I would do it again.” _Why would there be any doubt of that?_ When it came to his brother, Dean would do whatever he had to do despite what the consequences might hold. “And just so you know it wasn't some random vampire." As if he would let a vampire he didn't know bite him. Dean took a deep breath. He knew this next part was going to be hard for Sam to take. “It was Benny."

“Benny?” Sam clenched his jaw tight and hoped with every cell in his body that Dean couldn’t hear the jealousy that he was trying desperately to hide. Because he was jealous, he was practically green with envy of his brother’s relationship with that particular vampire. He had been from the moment he had found out about them. “Wait a second. I thought Benny was in Purgatory.”

“He is.” A muscle ticked in Dean’s jaw as he spoke.

A look of confusion marred Sam’s face. He didn’t understand what had happened. “Then how was he able to turn you?” He tried hard not to think about Benny biting Dean, or of the way his hands must have gripped his brother tight as he slipped his fangs into the tender skin of his... Sam shook his head to dispel the images his mind was creating. 

“It’s a long story.” And for some reason Dean didn’t quiet understand he wanted to keep what had happened between him and Benny private, a secret that only the two of them shared. Besides he was positive despite what Sam said he really didn’t want to know the details.

With his arms crossed over his chest and a mulish expression on his face, Sam muttered, “I’ve got time.” Although he knew he shouldn’t want to know what had happened between Dean and Benny there was a part of him that perversely had to know.

 _Damn it! Sam was like a dog with a freaking bone._ Dean took a deep breath before he began to explain all that had happened and how he had rescued Sam. Of course he used the shortened cliff notes version, especially the part about how he was turned. There were some things that his brother just didn’t need to know. Thankfully he had other things he could tell Sam to get his mind off of Benny. One mention of having worked with Crowley and his brother’s attention was caught just as he knew it would be.

“Hang on.” Sam held up his hand as he interrupted. “You _worked_ with Crowley?” He was having a hard time wrapping his head around that. Sure Dean had mentioned earlier what Crowley had said about the oubliette but he had just assumed that it was a one time only thing.

Dean nodded. “Garth and I couldn’t find anything in here about the monster that had taken you. So he suggested we summon Crowley.” At the look on Sam’s face Dean quickly jumped to Garth’s defense. “It was a good idea, Sam. Especially since the only things we could find were books about the mating habits of the Deeper South’s Succubus.” 

A quizzical look appeared on Sam’s face. “What?”

He shook his head. Now was definitely not the time to get into all of that. “I’ll explain later.” Dean promised before he continued, “As I was saying summoning Crowley was a good idea. He set us on the right path. After Garth and I had rescued you he even told me how to bring you back to yourself. Without him I’m not sure we would have found you in time. Or been able to bring you back to yourself.”

“Is there more?” At his brother’s nod, Sam sat dumbfounded as he listened to Dean finish explaining everything that had happened. 

“So not only did you work with Crowley but you let him talk you into becoming a vampire to save me.” The words were out of Sam’s mouth as soon as Dean had fallen silent. But it wasn’t a question it was merely a statement. 

“Yeah. I did.” The look on Dean’s face showed he failed to see the problem. “And to save you I would do it all over again.” 

Sam stared at his brother, his eyes searching Dean’s. There really wasn’t anything that Dean wouldn’t do for family. Sam shook his head. That wasn’t quite right. There wasn’t anything that Dean wouldn’t do for him. It humbled him to think that to save him his brother willingly became the one thing he had never wanted to be again.

“Dean. I...” Sam didn’t know what to say. That wasn’t quite true. He knew exactly what he wanted to say but he wasn’t sure if Dean really wanted to hear it. On second thought he was positive his brother didn’t want to.

“Sam.” Sam’s name fell from his lips as he continued to stare at his brother. There were things he wanted to say but he had kept them locked deep down inside of him for such a long time. He didn’t think he would ever find the courage to say any of those things he needed to say.

Neither one of them knew how it had happened. One minute they seemed to be arguing over the merits of Dean becoming a vampire. And in the next moment they were all hands as they tore at the offending garments keeping them from each other’s naked skin.

“Dean.” His voice was husky.

“Don’t talk, Sam.” Dean growled as he ripped Sam’s shirt from his body. “I don’t want to think anymore. I just want to feel.” He grazed Sam’s chest with the tips of his fingers. “Make me forget I almost lost you.”

“God, Dean.” Sam cupped Dean’s face in his hands as he leaned forward. “You didn’t lose me.” His breath caressed Dean’s face as he nipped his brother’s bottom lip with blunt teeth before sucking it into his mouth to soothe the small hurt. “You’ll never lose me.” The guttural promise escaped him as he pulled Dean closer and devoured his lips.

Dean groaned as fire raced through his body. He was passion, want and need all rolled into one. His body was pure flames as Sam rained warm, wet kisses on his lips, neck and down to his shoulders. It was everything he had ever needed but had never even let himself admit he wanted. 

In Sam’s arms Dean lost all sense of reality, all meaning of self. The only thing that mattered to him was being touched by Sam. In his brother’s hands Dean forgot all about the hunger for blood that had ridden him daily as a different kind of hunger grabbed a hold of him and pulled at him until he was nothing but living desire.

Somehow their remaining clothes joined the rest scattered across the floor in a trail leading towards the nearest bedroom. Neither of them quite knew how it happened but thankfully there was a bed right where they needed it. With passionate groans filling the room Dean fell back onto the bed and pulled Sam on top of him.

Hands, lips, teeth and tongues, caressed warm, delicious skin, each caress bringing the other closer and closer to the brink. 

“Please, Sam.” His eyes almost rolled back into his head as Sam caressed the length of his cock with his tongue.

A deep groan escaped him at Dean’s pleas. It was his favorite sound in the whole world. “It’s okay, Dean. I’ve got you.” With unseemly haste Sam slid his body up Dean’s and reached over to the bedside table to grab a tube out of the top drawer. A wicked grin pulled at the corners of Sam’s mouth as Dean thrust his body up towards him. A hiss escaped from between clenched teeth as their cocks slid against each other’s. “Easy.”

As Sam prepared them both, Dean didn’t ask why he’d had the lube in his room in the first place; he was just thankful that he did. Now if only Sam would stop teasing him.

“No, damn it, Sam. Quit teasing me.” Dean threaded his finger through Sam’s hair and jerked him down until their lips met in a soul stealing kiss. 

Dean closed his eyes, threw back his head and moaned as Sam’s fingers reached between their bodies and teased his cock. He couldn’t stop himself from thrusting into Sam’s hand as he stroked him up and down, slowly, squeezing just hard enough until Dean thought he was going to go insane with pleasure.

Finally, when Dean was almost completely incoherent and his pleas were echoing through the room Sam slid down his body until he was kneeling between Dean’s legs. 

“Open your eyes, Dean.” Sam caressed the length of his own cock. “Is this what you want?”

“Sam.” Dean scooted down closer, demanding without words for Sam to fuck him.

But Sam held back. “That’s not going to cut it, Dean.” He slid his cock against Dean’s delicate skin. “Tell me that you want this, that you want me. I want to hear you say it.”

“Please.” The word was barely recognizable as if fell from Dean’s lips.

Sam eased closer, sliding the tip of his cock a little further into Dean. He clenched his teeth tight to keep from slamming into Dean. He wanted to bury himself inside of Dean’s body until they couldn’t tell who was who but he needed to hear him say it. “Dean.” He pulled the head back out. “Tell me.”

Dean shook his head as he writhed against Sam, his body on fire with need. 

He eased the head of his cock passed the puckered opening once again before pulling back out. Dean’s frustrated groan was music to his ears. “Tell me, Dean. I need to hear it. Tell me now.”

His fingers dug into the delicate skin of Sam’s hips as Dean finally gave in and yelled at the top of his voice, “Fuck me.” His eyes were glazed with passion, the pupils blown. “Is that what you wanted to fucking hear?” Dean didn’t give Sam a chance to answer as he pleaded with the man that held him at the brink of ecstasy but who was denying him the sheer pleasure of falling over the precipice. “Please, Sam. I need you to fuck me.”

With a groan of satisfaction mixed with a sigh of relief Sam eased his hands underneath Dean and pulled him closer and thrust his hips until his cock slid deep inside of Dean’s body. A deep guttural sound escaped both of them as Sam buried himself to the hilt.

Sam stilled, his body trembling with the force of trying to hold back, as he stared down at the place where they were finally joined as one.

The feeling of Sam trembling against him, his cock throbbing deep inside his body was almost more than Dean could take. He was rock hard and aching; barely holding on to the edge. “Please, Sam.” Dean begged as he wiggled his hips against Sam with urgency; thrusting back and forth, trying to find his release.

“No, Dean. Stop.” Sam whispered as he grabbed Dean’s hips to still him. “Stay, still.” He growled through clenched teeth. “I want to savor this.” He loosened his grip on Dean’s hip and began slide his hand from his brother’s neck and down to his chest in a soft needy caress. “Do you know what this does to me?” His voice was deep and husky. “To be buried deep inside of you, to feel your muscles squeezing my cock? It’s almost like a fist is gripping me. Except it feels better.” Sam groaned in his throat as he gave a tiny thrust. “So much fucking better.”

He ran his thumb over Dean’s full bottom lip, he was looking forward to having those lips wrapped around his cock, thrusting deep inside of his warm mouth until his legs buckled with pleasure.

Sam jerked in surprise at the feeling of sharp teeth nipping at his thumb. His eyes widened as Dean sucked his thumb in his mouth, his hungry growl vibrated through Sam’s body and down to his cock causing it to harden further.

Slowly, as he watched Dean worked his thumb in and out of his mouth a low hiss escaped him. Watching Dean suck his thumb was almost as good as it would be watching him suck his cock. Another hiss escaped him as his brother’s teeth scraped against the pad of his thumb and it was all he could do to control the urge to thrust harder and harder inside of Dean. Sam bit back a loud groan as Dean wrapped his legs around him tight, his heels dug into Sam’s ass urging him to go even deeper. _Who was he to deny Dean what he wanted?_

 _How could they have waited this long to do this? What the hell had they been thinking? Why would they deny themselves a taste of heaven, especially when it was this close?_

He thrust his hips, going harder, faster, deeper, as he stared down at Dean. He couldn’t help but notice a glint of vampire teeth peeking out from beneath Dean’s lip.

“Dean.” Sam’s voice was husky with barely controlled passion as he called his brother’s name with a look of impending horror on his face. He quickly stilled and tried to pull away. _How could he have let this happen? He knew what would happen. Hell they both did._ As much as he wanted Dean, and damn did he want him with a passion too long denied but this was much more important. “My blood.”

Blood was the last thing on Dean’s mind as he licked his lips and pulled Sam towards him. “It doesn’t matter, Sam. It’s not important.” 

"How can you say that, Dean?" Worry colored Sam's voice as he spoke. "You could be a stuck as a vampire for the rest of your life." Cold dread washed over him at the thought.

"Right at this moment, I don't give a good damn." With his hands clenched into fists tight around the sheet, Dean thrust upwards, trying to regain the friction he so desperately needed. His eyes widened and he stilled as a thought occurred. "Does this bother you? Do you not want this, want me like this?" The question was asked around his vampire teeth.

 _How could Dean even think that much less ask it?_ "Are you serious?" Sam's cock throbbed deep inside of Dean as he spoke. "I want you every which way.” He eased out until only the head of his cock was left inside of Dean before he thrust deep burying his cock to the hilt. “Every way and any way that I can get you."

"Then nothing else matters. It's not important." The most important thing to him in this moment was for Sam to continue what he was doing. “Don’t stop.” His fingers gripped Sam’s hips as he yanked him closer, his fingernails biting into delicate skin as he demanded more. “Don’t ever stop.”

Sam knew they should stop what they were doing but for the life of him he couldn't. He knew there would be consequences for their actions but right in this moment the need in Dean’s voice was more important, it was Sam’s undoing.

A deep groan of surrender echoed around the room as Sam gave in and proceeded to give them what they both wanted.

Over and over again Sam pistoned in and out of Dean’s body. Each thrust brought him closer and closer to an orgasm that hovered just out of reach. 

“Oh...Sam.... Please.” Dean begged as his fingernails scored Sam’s back.

With one hand gripping Dean’s hip, Sam began to stroke Dean’s cock with the other one. Slowly up and down, squeezing a little tighter on each upstroke until Dean’s cries of passion were ripped from his throat.

“That’s it, Dean.” Sam’s eyes rolled back in his head as he thrust deeper and deeper. “Come for me.” He demanded while he increased the pace that he had set. His hand slid across Dean’s cock faster and faster, keeping perfect rhythm as he slid in and out of Dean’s body.

 _Deeper._ Sam’s eyes glazed over as he thrust deep inside of Dean.

 _Harder._ Dean’s fingers dug into his hips. He was going to have bruises and he didn’t care.

 _Faster._ With his cock buried deep inside of Dean’s body and his hand wrapped tightly around Dean’s cock, Sam thrust faster and faster as he pushed passed all the barriers Dean had to drive his brother wild with desire. 

This was where they should have been all along. Dean, his head thrown back in passion, his face contorted in the sweet agony of chasing an orgasm just out of reach, was the hottest thing that Sam had ever seen. And there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he wanted to see it again. And again. And again. Hell, he wanted to spend the rest of his life just like this.

With one hand gripping Dean’s hip and the other stroking his cock Sam thrust deeper into Dean over and over again. Each thrust of Sam’s cock inside of him hit that sweet spot that almost made Dean come unglued with more pleasure than he could possibly stand. Until finally they shouted each other’s name in unison as their orgasms over took them and they found their release.

Heavy breathing filled the room as they collapsed in a tangle of limbs on the bed. 

Sam bit back a groan as he felt Dean tense. _Did this have to happen now?_ He knew they needed to talk about what had just happened but couldn’t his brother just give him a little longer to enjoy the afterglow. 

“Sam. I....” Dean began as he untangled himself from Sam and tried to put a more respectable distance between the two of them.

But Sam was having none of it. He eased closer. “I know, Dean. But can it at least wait until I catch my breath?”

Dean couldn’t help but smile at Sam’s pissy tone. No one did pissy like Sam. “Okay, but only for a minute or two.”

He knew he should be ashamed of what he was about to do but desperate times call for desperate measures. Slowly, carefully Sam began to breathe deep, in and out until his body began to relax. It wasn’t very long before Dean followed suit.

A few minutes later Sam softly whispered his brother’s name. “Dean?”

A soft snore was his only answer. Dean had fallen asleep. With a huge grin on his face Sam scooted even closer to Dean, effectively closing the distance between them. He guessed their talk would just have to wait until in the morning. And that suited him just fine. A few minutes later and Sam, with a satisfied smile on his face was snoring right alongside his brother.

 

Sam woke with a soft satisfied smile on his face. It was the best night’s sleep he’d had in a very long time. His mouth opened in a yawn as he raised his arms over his head and stretched lazily. This was the best he had felt in a long time too. And why shouldn’t he? Things were really looking up. He had remembered who he was, as a matter of fact he remembered everything and he finally knew what it felt like to hold Dean in his arms, to kiss his lips, and the feel of his body trembling with pleasure. That was something he had wanted to do for as long as he could remember. He gently slipped his arms around Dean as he sighed happily. His life couldn't be any better than this.

With a soft growl rumbling in his chest he pulled Dean closer and kissed the back of his neck, his tongue traced circles on the delicate skin.

Dean jerked like he was shot and almost jumped out of bed but Sam held him too tight to move. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Relax, Dean." Sam purred against his skin as he tightened his arms around him and settled closer. "It's just me."

"Just you?" Dean's voice was sarcastic. _Was that supposed to make him feel better?_ "You do realize that what happened last night didn't really happen, don't you?" He completely ignored the part of his body that called bullshit.

A look of confusion began to spread across Sam's face. He was positive that last night had happened and his body was sore all over to prove it. And he’d bet anything that Dean’s was too. "What do you mean?" Although he had a feeling he knew exactly what his brother was going on about.

"Last night was..." Dean cleared his throat but before he could finish speaking Sam had already began to interrupt.

"Perfect." Sam softly whispered, his breath warm against Dean's skin as he quickly interrupted before his brother could finish whatever it was he was going to say. "Amazing. Mindblowing." Sam added as he punctuated each word with a warm, wet kiss to the back of Dean's neck before he could stop him.

"Cut it out." Dean reached back and swatted Sam on the hip. He pretended not to notice how warm and inviting Sam’s skin was or how his own hand wanted to linger there and trace each goosebump that appeared on his brother’s body. "You know good and damn well that wasn't what I was going to say."

 _That was too bad._ Sam let out a deep sigh. _This really wasn’t what he had in mind as a way to start the day. He was actually hoping for a repeat of last night._ But at the look on Dean’s face he knew that wasn’t about to happen. They might as well hash this out and get this over with. His brother was like a dog with a bone. Once he got something in his mind it was best to let him just get it out of his system. "Okay, Dean. Out with it. What’s the big deal?"

 _What’s the big deal?_ Dean was having a hard time believing what he was hearing. “Damn it, Sam! We’re brothers.” Dean snapped. _What they had done was wrong on so many levels he couldn’t begin to count how wrong it was but he couldn’t deny there was a small part of him that really wanted to do it again._ Dean quickly stamped down on that thought. There would be no more of that. What had happened between the two of them was a fluke that was all. He blamed all the worry and stress he had been through, and the fact that Sam had stood in front of him, whole and remembering who he was. It had been intoxicating, like he had drunk one too many beers.

“So?”

“So?” Dean couldn’t believe this wasn’t bothering Sam not even a little bit. “What do you mean so?”

“I mean so. What’s the big deal? We weren’t hurting or bothering anyone.” Sam started to snuggle closer to Dean. “And I would like to point out that it didn’t seem to bother you at all last night either.” He moved even closer as he pulled Dean deeper into his embrace. “As a matter of fact I seem to recall you begging me for more. And I gave you more... much more.” Sam’s hand slid down to grip Dean’s hip as he spoke. “Your voice was husky as you cried out my name in the throes of pleasure. It was the hottest, sexiest thing I have ever heard in my life.” And he couldn’t wait to hear it again. “I bet I have bruises in the shape of your fingers on my hip as you demanded that I go faster, deeper and harder.” He nipped Dean’s shoulder with blunt teeth. “You want to see?”

Sam’s laughter rang out loud and deep as Dean vehemently shook his head. 

His voice was filled with barely satisfied need as he spoke. “You really were something last night. All passion and need, telling me exactly what you wanted from me and where.” Sam drew in a sharp breath through clenched teeth. “Damn.” He thrust his hips forward. “I get hard just thinking about it.” 

Dean closed his eyes tight at the images Sam’s words conjured in his mind. _This was so wrong._

When he opened his eyes Sam was lying flat on his back, with his body naked and his cock rock hard.

“Sam!” Dean’s voice raised an octave. “What in the hell is wrong with you? I don’t need to see that.” He completely ignored the voice inside of his head that whispered he wanted to see that and more. 

Although he tried not to Dean couldn’t help but stare. As a matter of fact he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Sam’s delectable body. The longer he stared the more his baser instincts began to take over. He could hear Sam’s blood rushing through his veins, he could smell the warm, delicious scent just beneath the surface of his skin. His eyes darkened, his teeth seemed to lengthen further, he was way passed hungry, he was starving and all he wanted was Sam. And it just so happened the man in question was laid out in front of him like an all you can eat buffet. And he really wanted to sample everything.

Dean stared into Sam’s eyes before he leaned over and began to nibble at his lips before he traced a path from one lip to the other. 

“What about us being brothers?” Sam could have bitten his own tongue. He didn’t know what had come over him or what would make him ask that. The devil must have been riding him.

“You know what they say about close kin.” Dean growled against Sam’s lips as he slowly ground their cocks together.

At the hungry, desperate look in Dean’s eyes a triumphant smile slowly began to spread across Sam’s face. It should have bothered him that the only reason Dean was giving in was because of his vampire nature but Sam couldn’t find it in himself to care. Human or vampire he would take Dean either way he could get him.

And that’s when Sam remembered what had happened the night before. “Dean, wait.”

“It’s too late for that, Sam.” Dean’s eyes darkened and his voice was thick with passion. “I can’t stop.” He sank deeper on top of Sam, letting him feel his weight on top of him. “Besides we both know you don’t want me to stop.” With a moan he bit Sam’s lip. “Trust me in less than two seconds flat I can have you begging like a teenager on prom night” Dean growled as he traced a path to Sam’s neck with his tongue.

Of that Sam had little doubt. But despite the temptation that wanted him to give in, demanding he let Dean prove the truth of his words, now was not the time. “Damn it, Dean. This is more important.”

“Nothing is more important than this.” Dean began to slide down Sam’s body as he spoke.

He frantically pulled at Dean as he tried to get him to stop.

“Relax, Sam. I’m not going to taste you, that will come after a shower but...” Dean grazed his teeth across Sam’s hip before he whispered temptingly, “There are other things we can do.” 

Sam’s eyes rolled back in his head as heat slammed into him. Maybe they could just... Soft moans and loud groans began to echo through the room. It wouldn’t hurt to just this once... He quickly shook his head. Dean was finally giving in, this was what he had wanted for very a long time why oh why should he have to stop now? The universe really did have a cruel sense of humor.

“Stop, Dean. Stop.” Sam pushed back against Dean as he tried to dislodge his brother.

“Son of a bitch.” Dean muttered as he laid his head on Sam’s stomach. “What is it, Sam?” He didn’t add _And this had better be good._ He didn’t have to it was completely understood.

“Last night when we were... “ Sam’s eyes glazed over with remembered passion as he ran his fingers through Dean’s hair. “When I was buried inside of you.” He barely managed to control himself at the feel of Dean biting gently on his hip. Sam swallowed hard. “Damn it, Dean.” He could actually feel Dean’s smile against his skin. “Please, this is...”

“Damn.” Heat slammed into him. It was all Dean could do to keep from taking Sam whether he wanted him to or not. “Now I know what you mean.”

With a look of confusion Sam gazed down at Dean. “About what?”

“Hearing you beg is sexy as hell.” Dean murmured as he ran his tongue across Sam’s stomach from hip to hip.

Sam quickly hid a grin and got back on topic before Dean could lead them further astray. “There was blood on my hands from trying to get your attention in the oubliette. You sucked my thumb.”

He had expected a look of horror, shame, anger or even downright rage but what Sam got was something entirely different. 

Dean raised his head to stare directly into Sam’s eyes. “So.” He repeated Sam’s word back at him.

 _What the hell did he mean so?_ “Damn it, Dean. I was back human again. My blood was human. That means you’re doomed to stay a vampire forever.”

“Doomed?” Dean couldn’t stop himself from snickering. “You sound like one of those ladies in a bodice ripper romance novel.”

He couldn’t help but be curious. _Since when had Dean ever read a romance novel, much less a bodice ripper?_ “And you would know this how?”

Dean’s cheeks flushed and his mouth fell open as he hastily shook his head. “That’s not important.”

Sam quickly swallowed a laugh before he nodded his head in agreement. “You’re right it’s not. But trying to figure out how to save you is important.” His fingers tightened in Dean’s hair before sliding down to caress Dean’s cheek. “It’s very important.”

“I think you’re worrying for nothing, Sam.” Dean grabbed Sam’s hand and placed a kiss in his palm before he lowered his hand and gently began to rain tiny kisses across Sam’s stomach. 

“You do?” Sam groaned. He really wished Dean would stop doing that. And that was a thought he didn’t think he would ever have. But he really needed to concentrate. And as long as Dean was doing that it wasn’t happening. “Wny?”

As Dean nodded his head his hair tickled the delicate skin of Sam’s abdomen. “Because it would take more than that tiny little bit to do that.” A vague memory of Crowley telling him that it only took less than a drop of human blood for him to be turned into a vampire permanently crossed his mind. Dean could feel the horror at the thought of remaining a vampire for the rest of his life begin to way him down. But there was no way he could let his brother know it. This was just one more thing he would have to figure out on his own or in the worse case scenario he would have to learn to deal with.

“I don’t think...”

“Stop worrying.” Dean interrupted. “Besides the blood on your thumb had already had time to dry, Sam. It was no longer fresh. And we both know the blood has to be fresh from the vein in order for it to work.”

What his brother was saying made sense and certainly sounded reasonable but Sam knew better. He knew Dean. And he could tell when he was lying or withholding the truth, for his own good of course. “Bullshit, Dean.”

“What?”

“You heard me.” Sam glared at Dean. “Now why don’t you try again and tell me the truth this time.”

Pain and anguish shot through Dean. If he had only been able to control himself; if he had kept his distance from Sam they would not be in this mess now. “What do you want me to say, Sammy?”

“How about starting with I’m sorry for trying to lie to you.” Sam glared down at Dean. He was beyond sick and tired of Dean trying to handle things by himself. He was going to help his brother if it was the last thing he did. “And then you can tell me exactly what you know.”

A disappointed sound vibrated through his chest as he sat up and moved a safe distance away from Sam. The whole point of keeping it to himself was to protect Sam from the truth. But he should have known that wasn’t going to work. “Before Garth and I went into the building where you were being kept Crowley wanted to remind me that if I drank any human blood, even the tiniest of sips that I would remain a vampire forever.”

“Doesn’t that worry you, Dean?”

“No.” Dean breathed deep before exhaling. He had to make sure Sam believed what he was saying no matter what. “I told you, Sam. The blood on your thumb wasn’t fresh. So there’s nothing to worry about.”

Sam rolled his eyes in exasperation and without another word he jumped out of bed. 

Dean flopped back down onto his back and watched as Sam pulled on his jeans. “Where are you going?” 

“I’m going to get some answers. The only way I know how.” The last few words were tossed over Sam’s shoulder as he rushed out of the room.

He placed his arms beneath his head, he didn’t see what good that would do. Even though Sam’s forte was research, he and Garth had already combed through everything that was here. _Son of a bitch._ The words escaped between clenched teeth as it suddenly occurred to Dean exactly what his brother was going to do. Dean quickly jumped up, grabbed his pants and slid them on before he rushed out of the bedroom to find Sam.

Dean came to an abrupt stop just inside the room they used for research. He had thought... But instead Sam was sitting at the table with his laptop open in front of him; doing what he did best, research. “Sam?”

He didn’t bother to raise his head as he answered. “Yeah?”

“I thought you would be...”

Sam’s eyebrows shot up as he finally raised his head to look at Dean. “You thought I would be what?” He could tell exactly what his brother was thinking. “Summoning Crowley?”

He had the grace to look sheepish. “Well, yeah.”

“You’re not wrong. If I can’t find anything to help you here.” Sam pointed to his computer as he spoke. “Then obviously summoning Crowley is the next step.”

“I told you, Sam that...”

His hair flowed across his forehead and down into his eyes as Sam shook his head. “I don’t care, Dean. And I’m not going to argue about it. I’m going to find a way to save you. Just like you saved me. No matter what I have to do.”

With an exasperated sigh Dean turned around and left his brother to it. He would just have to figure out a way to keep his brother from summoning Crowley.

 

Hours later Dean walked back into the room just in time to see Sam throw the ingredients of the summoning spell into the bowl and begin to recite the spell.

 _Son of a bitch!_ He had thought he had more time. “Don’t do this, Sam.” The last thing either of them needed was for Crowley to find out exactly what had happened between the two of them. The King of Hell would never let them live it down. _Why couldn’t he convince his brother that everything was fine, that he was fine?_

But Sam ignored him and continued the spell. It wasn’t long before the King of Hell himself was standing before them.

The tension between the two Winchesters was palpable as Crowley glanced around the room. Apparently all was not sunshine and roses in the house of Winchester. “Moose, you’re back to your old self I gather. I’m glad to see you’re here all safe and sound. And it is about time too.” He used his head to point in Dean’s direction and gave a little nod. “Squirrel over there was positively distraught with your abduction and your...” He waved his hand. “Let’s just say your... indisposition.” An amused smile lit his eyes at the dark look Dean was giving him. “But enough pleasantries, to what do I owe this... pleasure?” The little pause at the end was to show it really wasn't all that much of a pleasure.

 _Distraught? Did Crowley really say he was distraught?_ Dean shot him an angry look as he narrowed his eyes. That wasn’t exactly the word he would have used to describe it. He would have said concerned. _That’s it._ He had been concerned for Sam’s safety.

Crowley shot Dean a huge grin. It wasn’t hard to tell what Dean was thinking. If looks could kill he would have dropped dead the second he had uttered the squirrel comment, the added distraught part was just a bit of torture, icing on the cake as it were. He loved the art of torture but these days he was so busy with running his empire he barely had time to play anymore. But when it came to one Dean Winchester he would always make time especially since Dean was his favorite plaything. 

Reluctantly Crowley turned his attention back to Sam. “Was there a reason for this little get together or did you summon me here for a party.” A hopeful look appeared on his face as he wrinkled his nose and teased, “Ooh, is it going to be a party for just us girls?”

Sam swallowed hard. Now that Crowley was actually there he was beginning to rethink just how much he should tell the King of Hell. But he had to tell him something. “Hypothetically, if a vampire did somehow manage to ingest a tiny, very tiny drop of human blood what would that mean? Would he still stay a vampire....”

“Permanently.” Crowley replied without hesitation.

“The blood was already dried.” Sam quickly added. “Would that make a difference?”

“Let me think.” Crowley put his hand to his chin and rubbed thoughtfully. “Hmmmm.” He knew he was drawing out the suspense into downright torture territory and he was loving every second of it. “No.”

Sam felt the kernel of hope inside of him begin to die. He had really thought, he’d hoped that Dean was right. That dried blood didn’t count.

“Why all the hypothetical questions about staying a vampire? Unless...” Crowley’s eyes widened and he couldn’t stop a grin from spreading across his face as he stared back and forth between the Winchesters. “Dean, what did you do?” He couldn’t miss how the brothers refused to look at each other or the way bits of pink had begun to stain their cheeks at precisely the same time. _Ah._ With a look of dawning on his face Crowley continued, “And you didn’t even have the courtesy to invite me.” He tsked. “I’m hurt.” His grin grew bigger. “And may I say...” Crowley stared at Dean before glancing at Sam and back again. “Maybe even just the tiniest bit jealous.”

“Crowley.” Dean’s voice was low as he snarled in warning.

The King of Hell suppressed a shiver at the way the older Winchester growled his name. Despite his best efforts he didn’t think he would ever get over the wicked soft spot that he seemed to have developed for one Dean Winchester. But he would be damned if he would let it show... or at least he hoped it didn’t show. “What?”

Dean softened his tone as he spoke. “Can you help me?”

The silence was deafening as Crowley stared at Dean without saying a word. Finally just as their nerves were stretched almost to the breaking point he spoke, “There might be something that I can do. I’m not making any promises you understand? But maybe, if it was only...” His words trailed off as he watched Sam grab the keys to the impala. _What the hell was he doing?_ He stared at Sam and shook his head. _Did he really think he would let Sam go with them?_ “Oh, I’m sorry, Moose.” The look on his face showed that he really wasn’t sorry at all. “This has to be just between Dean and me.” A devilish grin spread across his face to light his eyes. “A tête-à-tête if you will.”

“Oh, hell no.” Sam wasn’t about to let his brother go anywhere alone with Crowley. That particular demon had proved time and time again that he couldn’t be trusted. At the look on Dean’s face, Sam knew exactly what his brother was going to do, he shook his head. “No, Dean. You can’t.”

“I’ve got to, Sam.” Dean glanced at Sam with a look of contrition on his face as he stepped closer to Crowley. “I don’t have a choice.” He couldn’t risk his brother’s life and that’s exactly what he would be doing if he stayed near Sam a moment longer. Not that he would want to hurt Sam but the urge to taste his blood was already almost too hard for him to control.

“Relax, Moose. Dean and I have been alone before without you and we managed to do just fine.” Crowley’s grin threatened to split his face in two. “Besides I’ll bring him back safe and sound. And relatively untouched.” Crowley’s already huge grin widened impossibly wider as he winked. “Or at least no more touched than what he already has been.” He let the meaning hang in the air between them as he blew Sam a kiss. “I promise.”

“Damn it, Crowley.” Aggravation colored Dean’s voice.

With Crowley’s amused laughter ringing in his ears Sam watched helplessly as his brother disappeared with the King of Hell.

 

While he waited for his brother Sam paced the halls of the bunker, his mind swirling with things he could have said and could have done to stop Dean from going with Crowley. 

He didn’t understand what would make Dean trust Crowley enough to put himself in the demon’s hands. It wasn’t like his brother to willingly trust Crowley. Of course Dean had done it before but that was when he was trying to save him. Sam knew Dean would do anything for him. But why now? It just didn’t make any sense.

And then it dawned on Sam. Because he had acted so desperate to find a cure for Dean so he wouldn’t have to be stuck as a vampire for the rest of his life; his brother had assumed that he wouldn’t want him as a vampire. And because of that Dean had decided to go chase a cure that might not even exist. That had to be it. It was the only thing that made sense.

 _What the hell was wrong with him?_ A loud frustrated sigh escaped Sam as he rubbed his forehead. _Did it really matter to him if Dean stayed a vampire permanently?_ Sam stopped pacing and stood in the middle of the room. _Would it change how he felt about Dean or make him want him any less?_

A surprised yet relieved smile began to spread across Sam’s face as the answers to his questions filled his mind. With a spring in his step he walked into the kitchen, grabbed a beer before walking back out to find a comfortable spot to wait for his brother’s return. 

He couldn’t wait to tell Dean what he had finally understood. Another sigh this one louder than before echoed around the room as Sam sank down into the nearest chair and waited for Dean to come back. He really hoped they hurried. Dean might now have an infinite life span but his was a little bit more finite than that. And he wanted to and planned to enjoy every single minute of his life with Dean regardless of what he was or wasn’t.

Sam’s fingers tapped out a tempo on the top of the table as what had seemed like hours passed by before he finally heard his brother calling his name. And with a smile on his face he quickly jumped up and rushed out to meet him.

“Sam.” Dean called his brother’s name as he walked hurriedly through the bunker. “Where were you?” He groused as Sam came into view but he quickly shook his head. “You know what, nevermind. It doesn’t matter. I wanted to tell you about what Crowley...”

“Where’s Crowley?” Sam glanced behind Dean, as his eyes searched for the demon.

Dean waved his hand dismissively. “He’s gone. But I have to tell you what he...”

"No, Dean. Stop." Sam interrupted before Dean could finish whatever he was going to say. He wanted his brother to know what he had come to realize before he said anything else. "Let me go first. I have to tell you something."

"Okay." Dean had kind of thought his news was more important but if Sam wanted to say something first he guessed his could wait for a few more minutes. “Tell me whatever it is you have to tell me.”

He took a deep breath. "It doesn't matter."

"What?" Dean looked confused. _He’d thought whatever Sam had to tell him was important._ "What doesn’t matter?"

"None of it." A dimple creased Sam’s cheek as he smiled and shrugged. "Or all of it.” As the look of confusion on Dean’s face deepened Sam continued, “Don't you see none of it matters, Dean. Whether you're human or a vampire, I don't care. It doesn't matter to me."

At Sam's words Dean's confusion grew. _How could it not matter? Especially when Sam had jumped up from the bed they had shared to search for a cure in such a hurry._

A slow, sexy smile began to curve Sam's lips as he moved closer to Dean to answer his unspoken question. "Because while you were gone I realized something."

Dean's widened as he listened closely. _Could this really be happening?_

"I want you. Just you. If that means you're human or if you have to stay a vampire, that's fine with me." Sam took another step closing the distance between them. 

"So what you're saying is if there's no cure and I have to stay a vampire forever you would still want to... want to be with me?" Disbelief colored Dean's voice as he spoke. There was no way Sam could mean what he said. If there was one thing Dean knew for certain it was that his brother wasn’t a fan of vampires.

"Yes." Sam answered quickly, his voice breathless. "You would still be you." 

“What about the blood?”

He shrugged. Sam knew as a vampire Dean would have to eat and it was going to be his blood that sustained his brother. “You could drink from me.” He smiled at the audible gasp from Dean. 

“What?” Dean couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You want me to...” He swallowed hard at that thought. “You would let me bite you, drink your blood?” There was no way Sam would be okay with that. “Why?”

Sam whispered softly, "I have never felt this way about anyone in my life, not even Jess. Not ever."

“But that’s not technically true is it?” At the quizzical look on Sam’s face Dean added, "Didn’t you love her?" Dean already knew the answer to that particular question after all Sam had wanted to kill his own brother for her.

 _That question came out of nowhere._ Even though he knew how serious this conversation was Sam couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his face at Dean’s jealous tone. He knew he meant Maerysa. “No, Dean. I am not now nor have I ever been in love with her. That was all fake. It wasn't real.” But he could tell he wasn’t getting through to Dean. For a brief moment Sam closed his eyes to gather his courage to finally admit how he had felt. His smile widened as he opened his eyes. “In all of my life I have loved, really loved only one person.” 

At the hopeful look on Dean’s face Sam leaned closer, his breath mingled with Dean’s as he whispered, “You. It’s always been you.”

"Even now? If I'm a..." Even though Sam’s words were exactly what he had hoped to here. Dean still couldn't allow himself to believe it. After everything he had done over the years he knew he didn't deserve it.

Sam reached out and placed his hand above Dean's heart. "I don't love you because of your humanity, Dean. I love what's in here." His fingers caressed Dean’s chest through the material of his shirt before he took a deep breath and admitted, "I fell in love with you because it's you, who you are. You're everything I have ever wanted. You have been for a very long time."

“Are you sure?” Dean needed Sam to be sure.

“Come here.” Sam hooked his hand behind Dean’s head, his strong fingers tight against Dean’s neck as he urged him closer. “I’m positive.” 

There was still something that Sam didn’t know. “But Crowley...” It was past time he told Sam what had happened.

A frustrated sigh escaped Sam as he leaned his forehead against Dean’s and breathed deep. He didn’t want to talk about this anymore. He didn’t need to hear it but apparently Dean was determined to tell him what he didn’t need to hear anyway. “Okay, Dean. Fine. What about Crowley? What happened?”

For a minute Dean opened his mouth to speak but before he could it finally dawned on him what Sam had been trying to tell him the whole time. Despite not knowing whether he was a vampire or not Sam had told him that he loved him. Dean inhaled sharply as his eyes widened with the knowledge of the truth. _Sam loved him._ The words kept going around and around in his mind. Whether he was human or a vampire didn’t matter because Sam really loved him either way. A beautiful smile began to slide across Dean's face as he leaned back to look into Sam’s eyes. “Does it matter?”

Relief washed over Sam as Dean finally understood what he had been trying to get through to him all this time. He shook his head as he pulled Dean closer. “Not even a little bit.”

Just before their lips met Sam paused to whisper, “Are you sure, Dean?” At the quizzical look on Dean’s face he continued, “Are you sure I’m what you want?” After years of his brother’s denial of his feelings and another vampire he refused to name, Sam had to be sure.

Dean took a deep breath, he knew exactly what Sam needed to hear. “You’re all I have ever wanted.”

The words had barely faded away between them before Sam crushed Dean’s body to his and kissed him passionately.

 

After years of keeping their feelings for one another hidden, of denying what they wanted, Sam and Dean were now determined to fight for what they had always needed most.... each other.


End file.
